


Return to Canto Bight

by Starwarsgirl



Series: After The Last Jedi [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-07 20:01:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 33,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14088570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starwarsgirl/pseuds/Starwarsgirl
Summary: THROWBACK THURSDAY!!! :DCheck it out!-That's how we're going to win. Not fighting what we hate—saving what we love-     Rose





	1. The capture

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anthonytheboy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthonytheboy/gifts).



> Throwback Thursday!!!  
> This was my very first story I ever wrote on here. It's been exactly a year since I finished it. Boy, have my writing skills gotten better since then. At least I think they have.... I don't know. Check out my newest fics I've wrote and please tell me if I've gotten any better at writing. :) 
> 
> Thanks guys! It's definitely not my best work, but I hope you still enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to save their friend Poe from being sold to the first order, rey, finn , and rose team up on a secret mission to go save him in the city of canto bight. Meeting old friends and making new ones, they must team up and save their friend. But there will be prices paid. 
> 
>  
> 
> I DONT OWN LUCASFILM OR DISNEY

The four friends had travelled back to Jakku so Rey could grab the few things she had hidden from other scavengers on that desolate planet.

Shd hid her most important things, such as her spare portions and her doll she played with when she was little, underneath a crashed X-wing a few feet from the entrance to her cave.

Poe and Rose were supposed to guard the entrance, so Finn and Rey could go through the scavengings the girl had collected throughout the years without having to look over their back every 5 seconds.

Finn stood near Rey as she put her things into a bag.

He was putting her old covers and hammock into a box. He admired the beautiful handiwork on the blankets. 

Rey suddenly felt a change in the force, someone close was in fear. Finn noticed her change in personality in an instant, "Rey?" He said quizzically as he looked over at her. She was ghostly pale and terribly frightened.

"Rey!?" He shouted as he dropped the old box he was holding, he ran over to her and he looked into her hazel eyes.

There was panic in them.

"Rey! Rey what's wrong!?" He yelled, her fear was spreading to him. She seemed to be staring straight through him.

"Finn, something's wrong" she said quietly. She glanced at the entrance, then finally looked at him, "its--"

But before she could say anymore, they heard Poe shout in pain and Rose was screaming their names. They both ran to the door and was startled by what they saw.

A tall man who was standing at the entrancd of his ship was shouting out orders to two other muscular men. They seemed to work for this tall stranger, because the two of them were dragging a knocked out Poe across the dusty ground towards their ship which was a few hundred feet away from them.

Rey heard grunting to her right, she glanced over to see Rose being tackled by a third man. "Guys!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. But the man quickly punched her, knocking her out cold.

"You help Rose, I'll get Poe!" Rey heard Finn tell her. They split up, Finn taking two men and Rey taking one.

Before the man could start to carry Rose away, Rey got out her staff and knocked him out from under his feet. He was prepared for an attack though, and pulled out a pistol. He started to shoot at Rey. She quickly dodged the bullets and knocked one back at the attacker. It hit him square in the chest. He fell over, dead.

Rey glanced behind her to see Finn kicking one of the men between the legs, and punching the other in the gut. *he's fine* she thought to herself. So she ran over to check on Rose. 

The smaller woman was waking up, "w..w..what happened?" she mumbled, "ah, my head!" 

"You got hit in the head," Rey told her, "stay down, I think you may have a concussion".  

"Where are the guys?" Rose asked her. 

Then rose gasped, "Rey! Watch-" 

Rey felt a searing pain go down her shoulder, she screamed and turned. Only to see the man she had just shot! He hadn't been killed! As she looked closer she noticed that he had a bulletproof vest on. 

He had pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the shoulder when she wasn't looking! Rey clutched her arm and pulled her hand back to see blood on her fingers. 

She watched in horror as the man swung his arm around and tried to cut her other side, but she caught his arm with her unhurt hand. She struggled to push him back, but it was no use. He was a man, and he was much stronger than an injured woman. 

Rose couldn't move, every time she tried to stand she would fall over. So all she could do was watch as her friend fought the man. 

Rey could only think of one thing to scream, "Finn!" The man kicked her in the ribs and she fell over. He stood before her, about to end her with his knife. She closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow. 

But, it didn't come. 

She opened her eyes to see that Finn had come to her rescue. 

Finn had shot the man in the back, where the vest didn't cover him. This time the man was truly injured. 

"Rey, rey!" Finn yelled as he ran to her. He then glanced at her arm, her normal tan sleeves were drenched in her blood. 

"I'm fine, but I need help with Rose." Rey said to her concerned friend, " she's got a concussion, and I don't need her getting brain damage. We need to get her to Leia, fast!" 

Rose looked behind them, "wait, where's Poe?" She asked. 

Finn sadly looked up at the ship flying away, he said nothing as he looked back down at his feet. 

Rey couldn't believe her eyes, "how dare you! You left him just to help me?!" She stared at him in anger.  

Finn once again said nothing, and there was an awkward silence between the three of them. 

"Let's go," Rose said, "Leia will know what to do." 

So the three of them made their way back to the falcon. 

Rey was both angry and touched, Finn had left his best Buddy's side to go help her. *He shouldn't have helped me, he should have saved poe.* she thought to herself. 

 


	2. The escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey, Finn, and Rose talk to Leia about what to do.

"No!" Rose screamed at Leia, "there is no way I'm going back there! I never want to see Canto Bight again!" 

"That's where they are taking him," Leia spoke calmly, "I can't change that, I'm sorry." 

"We can't just leave him there!" Rey shouted.

Finn stood up suddenly, "Well, I'm not letting my best buddy get stolen by the First Order." He looked into each of their eyes. 

Rose just looked down at her feet. She refused to meet his gaze.

"Finn," Leia said as he turned to look at her, "I know that he's our close friend, but whether he's my best pilot or not... I don't want to lose any more of our resistance." 

Rey watched as fury built up in his eyes, she had never seen Finn this angry before. 

"We can't lose any more people, we barely have enough to fight as it is." Leia said sadly, "I'm sorry, but I command that you stay on this ship, I'll talk to the other pilots and see what we can do...if anything." 

She patted his shoulder as she passed him and walked out the doorway. There was a erie silence for a few moments before Rey spoke up. 

"We can take the falcon," she said quietly, " we can sneak out of here and go save him. You know how to get there, right?"

Finn perked up, "yeah, I know the directions. When should we leave?" He asked her. 

"This instant," Rey responded, " everyone's in the meeting room, so we won't run into anyone while escaping. " 

"OK, let me grab a few things" he said as he quickly made his way to the doorway.

"Be quick!" She whispered to him as he went out the door. He gave her a thumbs up and ran to his room. 

After he was gone, Rey turned to Rose. "Are you coming?" She asked.

Rose looked up at her with nervous eyes, "I'll come, but Im not leaving the ship." She told her. Rey didn't know why Rose hated this  _Canto Bight_  so much, but she decided to ask questions later. 

 "Cmon then, let's get the Falcon ready" she said over her shoulder as she left the room, she smiled as she heard Rose's footsteps behind her. 

Rose had healed quickly after her concussion, it had been a few days since the attack and she was nearly back to normal.

Rey was impressed, the smaller woman was stronger than she looked.

Rey started up the falcon and waited on the ramp for Finn. 

 _What is taking him so long?_   She thought to herself as she felt her bandaged arm. 

Rose came up beside her, "what can I do to help?" She asked. Rey looked at her friend with happiness, she was glad that she was helping and wasn't a completely useless passenger. 

"Set the directions to this Canto Bight we speak of, then check the engine and make sure everything's working correctly" she told her.

She hoped that she wasn't too bossy, but Rose seemed content with this and went straight to work. 

She then turned and saw Finn running back with two pistols and a metal tube. 

Rey felt her side, she had left her lightsaber inside her room. Luckily Finn had grabbed it, he handed it to her, "forgot this!" He said smiling. 

Rey couldn't help but to smile back, "thanks, that was a close one." 

He suddenly got serious, "listen, thanks for backing me up back there. I appreciate it." 

She held his hand in hers, "its what friends are for." 

They both grinned at each other, and then ran into the Falcon. 

Rey was angry at herself for disrespecting Leia, but this was serious, their friend was in trouble and they had to rescue him. 

 _Leia's going to be furious,_ Rey thought to herself as she lifted the ship of the ground and set autopilot to Canto Bight. 

_Atleast I'll have Finn and Rose with me._


	3. Phasma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The flight to Canto Night is not as easy as expected

"Psst, Rey! Wake up!" 

Rey opened her eyes to see Rose poking her side, she had fallen asleep in the pilots seat. 

Rose pointed out the window frantically, "someone's been following us for the past few minutes! I don't know who they are or what they want, but they are making me nervous." 

Rey stood up and looked out the windshield, there was a medium sized ship right behind them. It was a bit bigger than the Falcon, but it seemed peaceful. 

"You think it's dangerous?" Rose whispered.

Just then, the Falcon jerked forward suddenly. Rey and Rose both tumbled to the ground, Rey looked up to see the ship behind them shooting at them! 

"They're shooting at us!" She yelled as she stood up and ran to the pilot's seat. Rose sat in the copilot next to her. 

The attacker kept shooting at them as Rey tried to dodge the bullets. Finn came running into the room, "what's happening!?" He yelled as the Falcon shook again. 

"We're being attacked!" Rose shouted. 

"By who?!" Finn asked as he looked out the window. "Oh no..." 

"What?!" Rey panicked as she tried to outrun the ship behind her. 

"Spit it out Finn!" Rose chided in.

Finn nearly fainted, "its the First Order!" He shouted, "Phasma to be exact!" 

"What do they want with us?!" Rose yelled as the Falcon shifted to the right, "did we break a law or something?"

"They know my ship," Rey breathed, "they know its me!" She tilted the ship to the other side. 

"We've got to escape!" Finn shouted. He and rose ran to the guns in the back to attempt to shoot the attacker. 

Rey saw the planet of Canto Bight come into view. They were almost there! 

Phasma shot the Falcon and it started to spin out of control. "Emergency landing!" Rey screamed as the ship aimed towards a thick green forest. 

Rey had no time to take in the beauty, her ship was spinning out of control, she had no choice but to take cover. 

"Guys!" She shouted for her friends as she huddled in a corner. Finn and Rose came running in and flung themselves down next to her. 

They all held onto eachother as the ship flew towards the ground. 

The last thing Rey remembered was Finn wrapping his arms around her and whispering into her hair, "I've got you Rey, I've got you."


	4. Forest creatures

As Rey slowly begin to regain her conscience, she felt something cold and wet press against her forehead. She opened her eyes, to see another pair or eyes staring at her.

"Aaah!" She screamed as she pushed herself backwards and pressed her back against a tree. There was a massive creature standing before her, 15 feet high at the shoulder. This beast could kill her in a second.

She winced as it roared, which sounded between a moan and a growl. She watched in terror as it started to come towards her. She screamed again, and the creature stopped moving. It looked at her curiously, and slowly trotted a circle around her. Then it turned and galloped away.

Now that she realized it, the beast didn't seem aggressive. It didn't want to eat her or smash her into the ground between its big hooves. Rey sighed as she leaned against the tree.

 _Wait...trees? Where am I?!_ She thought as she stood up and gazed at her surroundings. Thick, green forest surrounded her.  _What other creatures are out there?_ She wondered as she brushed her pants off. She was covered in dirt, and had bruises along her arms and legs. She looked behind her and saw the Falcon crashed between two trees. The windshield was busted out and the ship was covered in mud. But otherwise, it looked fine. 

Then it came back to her,  _Finn! Rose! Where were they?! Were they injured? Did forest creature eat them?!_

Worst case scenarios flashed through her mind as she searched frantically for her friends. She checked around the Falcon, seeing if they were laying injured...or worse...their bodies. But they were nowhere to be found. 

Rey then heard branches cracking behind her and she spun around, hoping to see Finn or Rose. But she only met eyes with the creature that she met just a few moments ago. She sighed as she sat on her knees and put her head in her hands. 

 _They wouldn't have left me behind, right?_ She thought in horror.  _Would they leave me on this forest planet, come back for me later?_ She started to get teary eyed as she thought this.  _Rose, I wouldn't be surprised if she left me behind. We just met each other a few days ago, she isn't that close to me. But Finn...no, not him, he wouldn't abandon me. He didn't before, he wouldn't now._ This thought eased her nerves. 

She looked up to see the horse creature standing before her, looking at her quizzically. Rey decided to trust this longlegged beast.

"Hello there," she said as she stuck out her hand to pet its furry head, "you're a beautiful thing." The animal leaned into her touch, it seemed to want human interaction. She smiled as it nudged her hand."

Rey studied the creature. It was mostly brown, with a touch of black here and there. It had light tan on its head, legs, and chest. It was furry all over and it had the longest ears she'd ever seen! They were perked up slightly as it studied her. The thing that stood out were its eyes. Oh those eyes, they were several different shades of brown, all blended together as if it were a painting. Similar to Finn's, but somewhat different. To Rey, it looked as if the creature had its own galaxies in it's irises.

"Have you seen my friends?" She asked the animal, it seemed as though it listened to her for it lay down. It wanted her to get on its back. "Oh dear," Rey said nervously as she realized what it wanted, "I've never rode anything before, except for my speeder." The beast snorted and lowered its head. 

"OK then, take it easy boy." The creature growled as she said this, "Oh! Excuse me! Take it easy girl. Sorry, its hard to tell with all that fur." She climbed up on its back and held onto its long, black fur along the top of its neck. 

"Let's go!" She said excitedly. They took off! At first it was a little overwhelming, it felt as though that Rey would fly off. But she quickly got used to the bumping and jerking and was comfortably riding the fast animal. Rey watched in amazement as they leaped over a large tree trunk with ease. They were going so quick, everything was a blur! Rey had thought her speeder was fast, but this was so much faster! "Woohoo!" She cheered as they leapt over a small canyon. She liked this animal, whatever it was. And it was taking her to her friends, she hoped. 

She watched nervously as a large wall of rock appeared up ahead. "Uhh," Rey spoke anxiously as she eyed the wall, " we're going around that, right?" Her question was answered as the creature sprinted faster and leapt ontp to a rock's edge! "Aah!" She screamed as she held on for dear life. The animal leapt higher and higher until they were almost to the top. Rey dared and looked down to see the tiny trees below her. She got dizzy and just closed her eyes. She was afraid of hights. 

As she felt the creature stop moving, she opened her eyes to see that they were on a very large plateau. Out in the distance, Rey saw something blue. They galloped away towards the blue blob. As they reached closer, Rey realized that the blue blob was a lake! A very large one indeed! They stopped at the waters edge and she hopped off the animals back. She gazed at the water and looked at her reflection. She was very dirty. 

"This is beautiful," she said to the creature next to her, "but why did you bring me here?" 

"Rey!" She heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned quickly to see Finn come out of the woods and sprint towards her! 

"Finn!" She yelled as she ran towards him. They collided in a mess of hugging, laughter and a few tears. "Rey! Where were you?! I've been worried sick!" Finn laughed as he wrapped his arms around her head and back, holding her tight. "Me?!" Rey said, "Where were you?! I was back at the Falcon, I couldn't find you! I thought you had left me or that you were..." She choked as she swallowed back tears. 

"Hey," he pulled Rey away from him and looked down at her, "I would never leave you, you know that. Plus," he said with a grin, "it takes a lot to kill me!" She looked over him and she saw no more than a few bruises and a cut here and there. 

"Is rose OK?" Rey asked with a concerned look on her face. 

"OK? Oh, you should come see her, she's better than OK!" He said as he lead her back where he came from. The horse-like creature followed them. "She's been hanging out with the Fathiers, shes in heaven right now." Rey looked at him confused, "what's a Fathier?" She asked. Finn looked over at her confused, then he understood, "oh, that thing behind us right now... That's a Fathier."

"Oooh," Rey said understandingly, "That's what that thing is! A Fathier! I wondered what they were called.

Finn grinned as he lead Rey to a large, open pasture. Long grass covered everything. " Ta da! Here we are!" He smiled as he watched his friend's reaction. 

Rey gazed in amazement at the field, it was so green! There was a large herd of 10 to 15 other Fathiers out in the middle, they looked just like the one that she had met. That particular Fathier ran out to greet her herd. 

Finn watched Rey, amused at how her mouth hung open at this big sight. The largness of the field was a lot to take in. The girl had nothing to say. 

Rey then heard a smaller version of the roaring noise that the female fathier earlier had made, and looked beside her to see Rose running next to 2 young colts. "Rey!" She yelled, "where were you?!" Rose ran up to her and gave her a hug. Rey laughed as the baby fathier nudged her and nearly knocked her over. "How do like Fathiers?" Rose asked her with a smile. "Pretty cool huh?"

"They are beautiful!" Rey said as she stroked the colt's head. It snorted as it turned and galloped away after its sibling. "I rode one on the way here. Pretty awesome." 

"Yes!" Rose said excitedly, " they are so much fun to ride! Right Finn?" She nudged his arm. Finn smiled nervously, "yeah right, I didn't have too much fun with that one." They both laughed. 

Rey was confused, she just glanced at both of them, clearly lost. "You've been here before?" She asked them. 

"Oh yeah!" Rose said, " while you were out finding Luke, we had to come here to find a master codebreaker in order to save the resistance! At first, we were captured by the police, but we were rescued by a dweeb named DJ. He stole a ship with bb8 as we unleashed all the Fathiers and rode them to safety. They used to be used for racing, but we freed them from that wretched slavery." 

Finn bared his teeth, "I'm gonna find that darn DJ some day, and I'll pay him back for what he did!" 

Rey had heard what had happened between DJ and her friends. He betrayed them in the end, but a least he helped them out here. 

"Huh," Rey said simply," Rose, you seem pretty happy here, why did you not want to come back?" 

"Oh, this is the nice part," she pointed at her surroundings, "I'd come here any day! But the city, that's the nasty part. Now come on guys! I've got some womp rat for us to eat! Its cooking right now, and I've also set up camp." Rose smiled as she ran towards the trees. 

Finn looked over at Rey, "race ya, Jedi!" He yelled as he ran after Rose. 

"Hey!" She yelled good naturedly, "you're cheating! No fair!" 

They all three laughed at each other as they sprinted towards their camp, with a couple Fathiers on their heels.

 


	5. Bad dreams and dark shadows

_Rey was running, running away from something she couldn't see. She was panting hard, sweat dripping down her face as she ran through the forest. There was crunching of leaves and twigs right behind her, and no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't seem to outrun it._

_"Where am I? Where's Finn and Rose? Who's chasing me?!" She wondered as she ran to an open field. She didn't care that it was open, she had to get away from whoever was behind her._

_Rey heard robotic noises and spun around to see a stormtrooper behind her! He pulled out his blaster and shot at the girl. She easily deflected the bullet with her lightsaber, and the bullet shot back at the attacker, hitting him square in the chest._

_Rey sensed the danger was gone, so she ran up to the dead trooper to take his gun. She stopped in her tracks to see Rose leaning over the dead body of armor, sobbing severely._

_"What's wrong with you?!" Rey screeched at her friend, "where's Finn?!" Rose turned to face Rey and she saw anger in her friends eyes._

_"Why?! Why?!" Rose stood and yelled at Rey furiously, "You! You're evil! You should have just left and join Kylo Ren!" She snarled at her, still crying._

_"What?" Rey said, clearly confused. Rose had taken the helmet off the stormtrooper she had just shot, and Rey's heart froze._

_The face of the dead trooper, it was Finn's. He was just laying there, eyes closed, blood surrounding him...he was dead._

She killed Finn.

_"No! No!" Rey managed to choke out. She was too shocked to cry, "how?! Why was he shooting at me?!" She thought in her screaming brain._

_"You!" Rose said, "you are evil! You deserve to die!" She screamed at the shocked Rey._

_Rey fell onto her knees, and eyes wide, stared at her hands. The hands that had just killed her best friend._

_"You will pay for what you did to Finn!" Rose screeched. She pulled out a knife and held it above Rey's head._

_Rey didn't even flinch as Rose sunk the knife into her back. *_

 

 

"Aaaah!" Rey screamed as she sat up. She was sweating all over and her heart was beating quickly. 

"It was just a dream..." She said to herself as she tried to calm down. She looked over to see Rose sleeping peacefully, with her head leaning on roosting fathier.  _She looks so calm now,_ Rey thought to herself as she watched the sleeping girl. 

She looked behind her to see the sleeping forms of Fathiers out in the field. 

She then felt a hand on her shoulder, she jumped and turned to see Finn staring at her concerned. "I heard you yell, are you alright?" He asked her, she could see the worry in his eyes. 

"It was just a dream," Rey chuckled, "I'm fine, honestly." 

Finn kept staring at her, "you didn't sound fine, you were yelling my name in your sleep." He then grinned, clearly amused at this. 

Rey blushed,  _gosh what do I say in my sleep,_ she thought. Luckily, it was very dark so Finn couldn't see her red, embarrassed face. "Sorry for waking you," she apologized. 

"Oh, you didn't wake me," Finn said to her as he looked up at the stars above them, "I couldn't sleep, too many creature noises out in the forest. Plus, I don't like letting my guard down, especially in a place like this!" He pointed around him.

"I know it sounds pathetic, but the dark has always freaked me out." He shook his head, now it was his turn to blush, "I don't like it when i can't see my surroundings. Things could be creeping in the shadows, and I wouldn't even know." 

Him saying this made Rey paranoid, she shivered. She just realized how cold it had gotten.

"You cold?" He asked her, "I've got my jacket, you can cover up with it." 

Rey shook her head no, but even Finn was cold. He knew she just was pretending to be strong, so he did this. 

"Well, I'm freezing. So I'm going to lay next to you, we can keep each other warm with bodyheat," he looked over at her, "only if you're OK with that." 

Rey nodded, so they laid back to back on the soft moss pile that Finn had made earlier. Rey hadn't known it earlier, but having someone at her back was comforting. She asked one more question, "what about Rose? Will she get cold?" They both sat up and looked over where their friend was sleeping. She was laying against a Fathier's side, her head surrounded by fur. They two colts from earlier were laying on each side of her. 

"I think she'll be OK." Finn chuckled as they both laid back down. 

They were silent for a little while, when Rey whispered to him, "goodnight Finn."

He smiled and whispered back, "goodnight Rey." 

They lay back to back, covered in Finn's jacket. 

That night, they both slept peacefully.

No bad dreams, nothing.

 

 

 

 

Rey woke up slowly the next morning, she was surprised to see Finn still asleep. He was laying beside her, but in a different position than last night. Rey had turned on her left side and Finn had turned on his right, they were facing each other. Rey had her head laying below his head, and he had a protective arm draped over her side. 

He hadn't meant it in a weird way, but it made her feel safe. She hadn't felt like this since she was a baby, cradled in her mother's arms that she would never remember. 

She decided not to get up, Rose was still asleep too. There was no need, and she needed the rest. 

So she just closed her eyes and went back too sleep. 


	6. Prisoners

"Put your hands up!" A voice said.

Rey snapped awake and opened her eyes to see a stormtrooper standing over her. His shiny white armor glowing in the moonlight. 

She picked up her lightsaber and turned it on, ready to attack. But before she cut the trooper's head off, Finn yelled at her. She turned to see him and Rose already tied up, and had guns aimed at their heads from two other troopers. 

"Stop Rey! Don't kill him, just give up and surrender!" He said to her frantically. 

She looked at her friend bewildered, why would she surrender? She could beat them easily. 

"Trust me, Rey" Finn said, smirking slightly. He winked at her. 

Rey rolled her eyes and dropped her weapon, she stood there with her hands up. 

"Fine," she said angrily, "I yield."

Onw of the troopers leaned over and grabbed her lightsaber off the ground.

"Stand up and put your hands behind your back!" The trooper ordered. He shoved Rey's hands behind her and clipped them together with something hard and metal. 

 _Handcuffs_.

He brought Rey over to stand next to the other resistance warriors. She looked over at Finn, who still didn't seem too worried. He still had that stupid grin on his face. Rey glared at him, _you're going to get punched when we get out of this_   _mess_ _,_  her eyes said it all. He just grinned and looked away.

 She looked over at Rose, who was obviously terrified. She had a look of horror on her face as she stared around her at her surroundings.

"Wh...where'd they come from?" Rose mumbled, she looked over at Rey. She could sense the fear in Rose. "Hey," she said reassuringly, "don't worry, we'll get out of this mess." Rose nodded and looked down at the ground. 

There were at least 30 troopers circling them. The lead trooper took a mic and spoke into it, talking to another team of troopers. "I've got them restrained, general." He said.

"Good," said a female voice, "take them to the jail immediately." 

"Yes ma'm," the lead trooper spoke and he turned off the device. "Take them to the ship, General Phasma wants them taken to the jailhouse." 

At this, Finn snapped his head over to look at the trooper. "Phasma?! I knew it!" He screamed, "I knew she had to do something with this!" 

"Uh," Rey said, "who's Phasma?" 

Finn leaned his head next to hers, "she used to be my general, I had to listen to every one of her stinking orders. These poor souls have to work for her as well," He grimaced, "she's the nastiest woman you'll ever meet, you'll see." 

"Let's move!" The trooper said, and the rest aimed their guns at the three captives' backs. Rey on one side of Finn and Rose on the other. 

Apparently Rey wasn't walking fast enough, because a trooper rammed his gun into her lower back. She cried out in pain as she fell to the ground. 

Finn and Rose turned to see what the trooper had done to Rey. Finn was mad. 

"Hey!" Finn yelled angrily, the trooper held up his pistol at his face. Finn knocked the pistol out of his hands with one swat and pushed the man into a tree. "You leave her alone, you hear me?!" 

Three other stormtroopers walked up to Finn, they held laser swords up to his head. "Touch one of our team again, and off with your head!" One of them said menacingly.

Finn just glared at them and turned to see Rose helping Rey up off the ground. Rey winced in pain as she held her back. 

"Are you OK?" Finn asked her as they started walking again. 

Rey looked over at him and he noticed a few tears in her eyes. S _he must really be in pain!_ He thought. "I'm fine," she said quietly, although he knew she wasn't. He watched her with concerned eyes, a back injury could affect her for the rest of her life. But she was up and walking fine, so that was a good sign. 

Rose leaned her head next to Rey's as they walked, "I know its one of our least concerns right now, but where do you think the Fathiers are?" She whispered.

Now that Rey noticed, the Fathiers were no where to be seen.  _Did the troopers take them too?_ She thought. 

The three friends were lead through the forest until they reached a large city. There were towering buildings, miles high above them. Lights shown everywhere, and there was flying automobiles taking creature here and there. 

"Where are we?" Rey whispered.

"This.." Finn responded, "is Canto Bight. Beautiful, isn't it?" 

She nodded as she took in her surroundings. They came to a large carriage, and were shoved into the trunk of it. 

There wasn't much room for them to stretch, but it was better than walking. Rey's back still ached from earlier, and she was tired from walking so far. 

The troopers shut the door behind them and Rey felt the carriage start moving. 

"So genius," Rey asked Finn, "what's your plan?" 

Finn looked over at her excitedly, "OK, so listen close girls. Poe was captured and taken to this city, right?" 

The two girls nodded. 

"Ok, then that means that they are taking us to where they took him, where they take all prisoners! The jail!" 

"Ooh! I get it!" Rose said with a smile, "we can escape from jail and pick up Poe on the way. Good idea." 

"How are we going to escape?" Rey asked.

They felt the carriage stop moving.

"We can worry about that later." Finn said quickly, "now shh, here they come." 


	7. Separation

* * *

Rey, Finn, and Rose walked through the busy streets of canto bight. There were tall buildings of loud people surrounding them, and Rey couldn't help but stare at some of the fancy beings there. The women wore all sorts of things! From skirts, to dresses, to barely anything at all! She even caught sight of a human with a small, furry animal draped around her neck. Most of the men wore shiny suits with black, expensive shoes. She couldn't imagine Finn or Poe wearing something that fancy. 

She looked over to see both of her friends marvelling at all the sights around them. Finn turned and whispered to her, "this place is amazing, isn't it?" He smiled as a small child waved at him from inside one of the buildings they were passing. 

"It sure is something!" Rey breathed. She then caught sight of a woman around her and Rose's age walking towards them. She was wearing skinny, glittery shoes that had sticks that lifted her heels up in a rather uncomfortable way. The girl also wore a large, poofy white dress that dragged at her feet. 

Rey nudged Rose's shoulder.

"What? Oh..." 

Both Rose and Rey stared at the rich human as she walked passed them. The woman stopped in the strut, and turned to gaze upon Rose and Rey. She looked them up and down, and just scoffed as she walked away, with a smug look on her face. 

"Rude." Rose muttered beneath her breath. 

The troopers stopped them and turned into a large doorway, there was a large sign above it that said something in a different language. Rey couldn't read it, and looked over to Finn for help. He just shrugged his shoulders as the troopers pushed them inside the building. 

The room was very large, a long desk sat before them and there was a massive chandelier that hung from the ceiling above. The walked through the room with their mouths open. 

"Keep walking!" A trooper said as he shoved them through another doorway. This room was filled with bar doors that kept prisoners captive. Rey felt hope flutter in her chest,  _this is the jail, maybe Poe will be here!_

As they passed door after door, the three people kept an eye out for their friend. 

But he was in none of the prison cells. 

The lead trooper held open a door for them to walk into. Finn went into the small room first, but before Rey and Rose could walk in, two troopers pulled them back and they closed Finn's door. 

"Hey!" He shouted, "what's going on?!" He pressed against the door. 

"This is the men's cells," the lead trooper spoke coldly, "the women's cells are over here." He pointed to another doorway that lead to another hall of doors. 

"You can't split us up!" Rose yelled as she fought the trooper holding her. "You can't!" 

"No!" Rey grunted as she tried to kick the man holding her. She missed and the trooper kneed her in the lower back, right were she had been hit earlier. 

She winced as she felt a shooting pain go up her back. She fell to the ground, panting softly. 

"Come with us!" The trooper shouted as he and his companions dragged the two girls away.

"Stop!" Rose shouted as she struggled to get away. 

"No, no, no!" Rey shouted, "Finn!" 

"Rey! Rose!" Finn shouted as he shook the metal door separating them. "No!" 

Rey watched his hand as he struggled to open the door, she lost sight of him as the troopers slammed a cold metal door behind them. 

 


	8. The three children

"Get in there!" The trooper shoved the two girls into the cold, grey cell. He slammed the door and locked it with a key, "have fun!" He sneered at them as he walked away. Rey heard a door shut and there was silence. 

"This is bad, very bad!" Rose panicked as she paced back and forth in front of the metal door. "What are we going to do now?! Now instead of saving one person, the resistance will have to save four!" She sat on the ground and put her head in her hands, "I shouldn't have even agreed to go on this mission." 

Ret felt bad, "I'm sorry, its my fault." She said sadly as she sunk down next to Rose. 

Rose glanced over at her and shook her head, "no it wasn't, it wasn't anyone's fault." She put her hand on Rey's shoulder, it was still bandaged from the knife wound a few days earlier. 

"No Rose, it was me. We wouldn't be in this mess if I wouldn't have told Finn we could take the falcon."

"Finn would have left on his own to go save Poe and you know it!" Rose argued. "He's his close friend, and nothing would have stopped him from leaving." 

Rey just shrugged.

"If Finn got captured, you would do anything to save him, am I right?" 

Rey looked over at her friend, "of course!"

"Exactly!" Rose stated, "so he's doing the same thing that you would do! If you got captured, Finn would go crazy and rescue you, even if you told him not to." 

"Meh," Rey mumbled.

"You should have seen him when he woke up!" Rose told her, "he was asking everyone where you were, and was worried sick about you getting killed."

Rey glanced at her with disbelief, "really?" 

"Yes girl! Heck, he even tried to leave the resistance to go find you. He wanted to protect you Rey." 

Rey couldn't believe her ears, "no, Finn wouldn't abandon the resistance, not after what they did for him." 

"I'm not lying," Rose told her, "I hadn't known him yet, and I knocked him out with my tazer when I saw him trying to leave." Rose smirked, "I kinda feel bad now, knowing that he was just trying to save his friend." 

Rey searched Rose's mind and found that she was telling the truth. 

But before they could say anymore, Rey heard footsteps passing their small window on the wall. They scurried over to look out the small opening, and saw three kids playing with their handmade action figures. 

Rose gasped as she saw them, "psst! Guys! Over here!" She whispered loudly. 

The three kids stopped playing and looked over at the two prisoners. Rey looked at them closely, they were around 8 or 9 years old. There were two boys and one girl.

One boy with short, light brown hair and dark hazel eyes who seemed like the leader of the three, stepped towards Rose and Rey, eyeing them curiously. He had a brown robe with pants to match it, and he had a little black belt around his waist. He was holding a little action figure that matched him perfectly.

There was another boy standing next to him who was around the same age. He was wearing an orange shirt with brown pants, his skin was darker that the other two, he had short black hair and deep brown eyes. He had a little orange hat on that matched his shirt, and he too was holding an action figure that looked like him.

Behind them, there was also a girl, who had pale skin and light blue eyes. She had her red hair into two braids that went down her back, and she was wearing a grey shirt with grey pants, almost the same color as Rey's clothes. She had a light blue bracelet on, which matched her eyes perfectly. 

"Hi!" Rose whispered, "Remember me?" 

The hazel eyed boy smiled, and started to walk towards them. Rey could sense fear rising in the other two children. And suddenly, the red headed girl sprinted away. 

"Arashell, tapa!" The boy shouted, and the girl stopped running. She looked back at them, her eyes big. 

The hazel eyed boy walked up to her and he said something to her that Rose and Rey couldn't hear. He then held her hand and gently walked her over to the two prisoners.

"Oniho, combal hib ke" he said as he passed the other orange shirted boy, and he followed slowly. 

The three kids walked up to Rose and Rey's small window, the hazel eyed boy still in front. He reached through the bars and stuck his hand out. Rose held his hand gently, "Honda cappa, quallana itzz drovi," she spoke softly to him. 

He smiled, "cappa hoob gin!" He said excitedly. 

Rey was so confused, Rose and this boy were having a deep conversation, and Rey had no idea what they were saying! She just watched in amazement as Rose spoke to the child. 

"What is he saying?" Rey asked.

Rose looked at Rey and started laughing. She then turned to the boy, "my friend here can't speak jakkik like you and I can, could you please speak in English?"

The boy shook his head, "sure!" He turned to Rey, "Hello... What's your name?" He asked her. 

"I'm Rey," she said. "Its nice to meet you." 

The boy smiled and turned back to Rose. 

"Rose? Where's Finn?" He asked as he looked over their shoulders, "and why are you here?" 

Rose shook her head sadly, "we came here to rescue a friend named Poe, but we got captured and taken to this rotten place." She pointed behind her, "Finn is in a cell in the men's hallway." 

The boy was upset, "Oh no!"

"We'll get out of this mess," Rose said confidently. 

The two other kids were still speechless as they cowered behind the boy. They just watched Rey and Rose nervously. "So," Rey began, "how do you two know eachother?" 

Rose smiled, "he helped us unleash the Fathiers when Finn and I were trying to escape. He was very brave, and without him we would have never got away." 

This made the boy grin proudly. But that grin of his soon faded away as he spoke, "the Fathiers are captured again," he said sadly, "they were just thrown in their stalls just a few hours ago." All three kids looked to the ground sadly. 

"No!" Rey and Rose were horrified.

"The whole herd?" Rey asked astonished.

"Every one of them, even the colts." The red headed girl said. This was the first time Rey had heard her speak.

"They are scheduled to be raced tomorrow," the boy said, "would you help us set them free?" All three kids looked up at them hopefully.

The thought of them being tortured and thrown in cages made Rey sick, she couldn't even imagine how Rose felt. 

"Of course!," Rose said immediately, "Rey here will help me as well, won't you?" She turned to face Rey.

"Yep, you can count on me." Rey said happily, she wanted to help the Fathiers as much as Rose did. 

This made the three kids cheer, they were overjoyed. 

"I'm very sorry," Rose spoke to the boy, "but I've seemed to forgotten your name." 

"Temiri," he said. "And you are Rose, correct?" 

Rose smiled, "Temiri, you are much better at names than I am." 

"What's your names?" Rey asked the two other children. 

They looked at Temiri nervously, "go on, tell them your names." He said reasurringly to his friends, "They are with the Resistance." 

The darker skinned boy stepped up to them and held out a hand, "My names Oniho, im the story teller. I tell hundreds of tales about you resistance fighters!" 

Rey and Rose both smiled simultaneously. "Its nice to finally meet you Oniho," Rose said "Timiri here told me a lot about you." She shook his hand. 

"Is Luke Skywalker a real person, or is he a myth?" Oniho asked curiously. 

"Oh, he's real." Rey said, " I've met him many times. " 

She smiled as the kids eyes got larger. "He's really real?! Like, really really real?!" Oniho asked excitedly.

Rose giggled, "she should know!" She pointed to Rey, "he's her master!" 

All three kids snapped their attention towards Rey. "Woah..." They said amazed. 

"And you sweety," Rose asked the girl, "whats your name?"

Rey watched as the girl slowly stepped towards them, "I'm Arashell," she spoke softly, "I don't do an important job ike tellling stories or leading this group, but I like going down to the water and making things out of seashells." She held up her bracelet. 

"That's beautiful!" Rey said as she studied the carft this young girl made. 

"Amazing!" Rose spoke, "how long did it take you to make it?" 

Arashell blushed with embarrassment, "just a few hours, it doesn't take long." 

Rey smiled at the girl, "its very pretty."

"Thanks," the girl grinned.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and everyone turned to the door to see a big lizard creature staring at them from the doorway. 

"Hey!" He yelled at the kids, "no talking to prisoners!" He kicked a barrel at them. It was rolling towards Arashell, so Timiri leaped in front of her, blocking her with his body! 

Rose and Rey gasped in horror at this,  _they would be crushed for sure!_

But to their astonishment, Timiri stuck out his hand and the barrel flew back towards the creature! "Not this time Bargwill!" He shouted as he and Arashell turned and followed Oniho towards a latter that lead to the top of a roof. 

"He can use the force!" Rose breathed, "just like you Rey!" 

"I wonder if the other two are force users?" Rey whispered as they watched the three kids climb the latter. As they got to the top, they pulled the latter up with them, making it impossible for Bargwill to get them. 

Bargwill couldn't get there in time, and sure enough the kids were up on top of a small hut, laughing as the creature below them paced back and forth angrily. 

After a while, Bargwill gave up and headed back to the Fathier stables. Giving the kids a long cold glare before closing the door. 

Timiri, Arashell, and Oniho climbed back down and walked over to where Rose and Rey were standing. The cell they were in was halfway underground, so the kids were able to sit on the ground and still be face to face with the two women. 

Rey then had an idea, she reached to her side for her weapon, but it wasn't there. Then she remembered, the trooper had taken it. 

"If I only had my lightsaber!" Rey muttered angrily, "I could cut us out of here!"

"I know where they keep the cell keys," Oniho said to them, "we can get you out of there." 

"You would do that for us?!" Rey was touched. 

"Of course!" Timiri laughed, "but only if you help us free the Fathiers."

"Deal." Rey shook his hand. 

"Would you get Finn out too?" Rose asked, "We also need to find our friend Poe as well." 

"Done and done!" Arashell said excitedly. 

"First, get Finn out and he can help you guys identify Poe. After you find him, then you can come get us." Rey spoke to the kids, "you OK with that Rose?"

"Yep!" Rose said happily, "now, let's do this!"

Rey and Rose watched as the three kids ran around the jail building, and vanished into the darkness. 


	9. The more escapees, the better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you watch Disney XD Star Wars Rebels, you will understand parts of this chapter better.

Finn paced back and forth nervously in the cell. He was panicking,  _this is bad! We are separated, and now what will we do?!_

He sighed as he leaned against the metal door, he glanced over at the sleeping prison guard. 

Suddenly, there was a faint thumping sound coming from above him. He stood up and listened.

The thumping stopped, and then the air shaft opened. A set of eyes looked down, and a young boy leaped down to the ground gracefully. 

Finn recognized him immediately, "Temiri!" He whispered excitedly. 

The boy smiled at him, he then moved out of the way as two more kids jumped down silently. A boy and a girl, who were around the same age as Temiri. 

The girl tugged on Temiri's shirt and pointed towards the sleeping guard. He had a set of keys on a rope around his neck. 

"Go Oniho!" Temiri whispered to the boy next to him. 

The boy named Oniho slowly crept up to the sleeping guard and smiled mischievously back at his friends. He wrapped his small fingers around the set of keys, and slowly pulled them over the guard's head. 

He then tiptoed back to the other two kids, grinning victoriously. 

"Here, Arashell." Oniho said to the girl as he handed her the keys. 

Temiri walked over to Finn. "Hi Finn!" He whispered quietly yet excitedly. 

"Hi buddy!" Finn whispered back as he squatted down so he could be face to face with the young boy. "Thanks for helping me!" 

Arashell picked a key and put it inside the lock on the cell door. She turned the key, and sure enough the door opened. Finn walked out and was met by Temiri hugging his legs. 

He was touched at this young boy's act, and he knelt down and hugged him back.

"We found Rose and Rey." Temiri whispered into Finn's ear, "they told us to find you and Poe." 

They stopped hugging, Finn stood and started to walk towards the door leading to the women's quarters. "Let's go get Rose and Rey out, then we can go get Poe." He looked back to see that the kids hadn't moved. 

"No, they ordered us to get Poe first." Arashell spoke quietly. 

"Its true," Oniho whispered, "they said to save them last." 

Finn rolled his eyes, "Fine," he whispered as he headed back to the men's hallway. _Those two women can be so stubborn!_

The kids walked beside him as they made their way down the cell hallway. Finn looked into every cell as he passed it, but there was still no sight of Poe. 

He was starting to lose hope, but as he passed the last door he saw a familiar figure. He was sitting cross legged on the floor, facing the wall.

"Poe!" He said quietly, "buddy! Is that you!?" He ran up to the cell door. 

The person turned, he smiled and ran up to the door. "Finn! Dude! Are you alright? Where's the girls?" He asked excitedly. 

"They're captured, we're about to go get them now." Finn said as he watched Arashell unlock the door to his cell. Finn pulled the door open and both men shared a quick brotherly hug. 

"What happened? Why are you here?" Poe asked as they started to walk towards the women's cell rooms. 

"Long story, I'll tell you later!" Finn said quickly as they ran down the hallway. 

"Rey! Rose!" Temiri whispered, "where are you?!" 

They heard a faint voice, "down here!" It said, and they saw two hands sticking out from between the bars. 

 

********************************************

"I hear them!" Rose whispered to Rey. They both stood up and listened. Rey heard a faint voice, "Rey?! Rose?! Where are you?" It was Temiri!

"Down here!" Rose said as she stuck her arm through the bars of the door. Rey copied her and pressed up against the door, looking for her friends. 

Her heart leapt for joy as she caught sight of Finn, Poe, and the three kids come running down the hallway. 

Arashell reached the door first and tried to find the key to unlock it. Finn and Poe ran soon caught up and ran up to the door. 

"Poe!" Rose said happily, "you're not injured!" 

"Yeah, I know," he said with a smile, "I guess they didn't want to tear me up too bad, I wouldn't sell."

They all knew he was fine, he was still joking around. Just like normal.

Rey noticed that he didn't have any bad wounds anywhere. There were a few bruises here and there, but otherwise he looked fine. 

"Cmon Arashell!" Oniho pressed the girl, "go faster!" 

"I'm trying!" She fought back, "I can't find the right key!" She was searching frantically.

"Search faster!" 

"Hey!" Temiri defended her, "leave her alone, she's doing better than what you could do!" He snarled at Oniho. 

Rey watched in amazement as Oniho backed up and gave Arashell space. He spoke no more. She was impressed by their pack order. 

She looked up to see Finn pressed up against the door. 

"They didn't hurt you guys, right?" He asked worriedly. 

"No," she said, touched that he cared, "we are fine. Rose here protected me." She nudged her friend's shoulder, smiling. 

Rose turned and nudged her back, "yeah, I'm her bodyguard!" she smirked.

"None of the keys fit!" Arashell said angrily, she threw the keys down. "I don't know where the other keys are!"

"Its OK Arashell," Rose said softly, "you tried." 

"Wait," Finn turned to Rey, "use your lightsaber!" 

"They took it," she said sadly, "the troopers have it."

Poe turned to meet Rey and Rose's eyes, "wait, they can't escape?!" 

"We'll find a way," Finn said reassuringly, "look for keys or an escape route guys." Everyone studied their surroundings, looking for something. 

Rey heard a female's voice, "I can help you." 

Everyone turned to see a teenager girl watching them from her perch next to a cell door. 

Finn walked down and faced the cell she was in, "how?" He asked her.

"I've got bombs," she said and she held out some ball shaped metal objects, "we can use these."

"Finn! Don't!" Poe ran down to him, "don't trust her!" 

Rey and Rose watched from their cell, trying to see what was going on.

"Why?" Finn asked innocently. 

"Dude," Poe said as he eyed the girl, " she's a bounty hunter, mandalorian to be exact." He glared at her, "they shouldn't be trusted."

The girl shook her head frantically, "no! I wont hurt you! Honestly! You've got to believe me!" Her eyes wide and frightened, she looked at Finn. 

Finn and Poe looked at eachother.

"Please!" She begged, "I just want to go back to my family!" Finn saw that she was teary eyed. 

"OK, will you help us?" He asked. 

"But-" Poe began but Finn stopped him with a glare. 

"Yes, I'll help." The girl shook her head, "but only if you help me escape."

Finn got an idea."Rey?" He asked a few cells down, "is the mandalorian telling the truth?" 

Rey searched the woman's mind, she saw he'd plan clearly. 

"She's not lying!" She called down the hallway, "let her help us!"

"OK," Poe asked nervously, "and how do you plan to get out of your cell?" 

The young woman held up a bomb, "we've got to be quick!" She lifted an eyebrow. "Ready?" 

The two men nodded and ran back down towards Rey and Rose's cell. 

Rey heard an explosion and there was smoke everywhere.

The girl who Finn and Poe had been talking to appeared, now that she was closer, Rey could see her clearly. The young woman had colorful armor all over her body except for her head and hands. Her skin was a little darker than Rey's, and she had bronze colored eyes which shone with excitement. Her short hair was confusing though, it started with green at the top and faded into blue on the bottom! There was no way that was a natural color! Otherwise, the girl seemed very nice. 

"Alright guys," the bounty hunter told Finn, Poe, and the kids, "you all run over there!" She pointed to another doorway. 

"You two," she pointed to Rey and Rose, "get to the back and take cover. Don't get up until I yell for you!" 

"Ok -er, what should I call you?" Rose asked.

"Sabine," the girl said, "call me Sabine."

Rose nodded as she followed Rey to the rear of the cell, they heard alarms start to go off around them. 

"Hurry!" Rey heard Finn yell. 

"3, 2, 1!" Sabine yelled and there was a huge explosion that nearly knocked Rey over. 

"Cmon girls!" She heard Sabine call.

Rose and Rey went running through the smoke, coughing as they made their way through. They found that the door had been blown off, and they were free! 

Sabine, Rey, and Rose found the others. They had a quick reunion, then they all ran out of the women's quarters. They were in the men's quarters now, making their way to the front. 

"Guys, wait!" Rey heard Rose shout from behind them, she turned to see her friend trying to comfort the three kids. They had their eyes wide, looking panicked. 

"Everyone!" Rey shouted, "don't leave yet! Stay here!" She ran towards Rose, nearly running into Poe and the bounty hunter on the way. 

"What's wrong?" She asked Rose, "are they injured?" 

The three kids were freaking out now, they were pressed against the wall, holding onto eachother. 

"They are scared of the alarms" she yelled above the loud beeping, she pointed to the flashing lights on the ceiling. " I don't know what to do! I can't just leave them behind!"

Rey had an idea, she bent down so she could be face to face with the three kids. 

"Hey," she said gently, "you know the Jedi in your stories?" They shook their head yes. "Well, sometimes they have to be brave! Be brave like a Jedi!" She smiled at them.

They seemed to gather courage, and they one by one stood up. Timiri lead the way, with Oniho and Arashell close behind him. 

"Good work!" Rose said happily, "whatever you said worked!" 

The hallway ended, and they exploded into a room. Luckily there was nobody there. "We need our weapons!" Finn pointed to a metal box that was pressed up against a wall. Finn and Poe ran up to it and opened it frantically, sure enough, their stolen weapons were in there. The two men snatched up their laser guns, "you'll need this," Poe told Rose as he threw her a pistol. 

Sabine ran over to the weapon box and pulled out two small blasters, she put them in her holsters on her sides. She reached down and held up a lightsaber, "who's is this?" 

"Mine!" Rey called out and the bounty hunter tossed her the weapon.

"Alright, let's get out of here!" Poe said as he started towards the door, then suddenly a laser shot into the wall just a few inches from Finn's head! They turned to see police troopers coming down the mens hall. 

They had blasters pointed directly at the 8 runaway people. Rey pulled out her lightsaber and deflected the shots, while Finn, Poe, and Sabine took their pistols and started shooting the troopers. 

Suddenly, there was more laser bullets coming from behind them. Rey turned to see more troopers in the other doorway, shooting at them. The kids screamed, as bullets flew around them. Rose leaned over them, trying to protect them with her body. Finn and Poe took one side, while Rey and Sabine took the other. 

Rey started to panic, there was only one way out and the troopers were blocking it. 


	10. Rebels on the run!

"Hiya!" Rey heard Sabine yell. She saw her throw something on the ground, and the room suddenly filled with smoke! "I love smoke bombs!" The bounty hunter shouted.

Rey could barely see through the thick fog, but she could just make out the outlines of her friends. "Cmon!" She heard Poe shout, he was standing near the open doorway, "follow me!" 

The security alarm sirens were still going off, which made it extremely hard for her to hear him.

Rose ran by, nearly knocking into her as she headed towards the door with Temiri and Oniho right at her heels. Finn was standing beside Rey, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go! Before the troopers find out where we are!" He pointed behind him, where Rey could see the flailing arms of troopers as they tried to find their way around the room. 

She nodded and followed him out. The smoke quickly disappeared as they entered another room. This one was much bigger, it was the main lobby. She looked around to see Poe, Finn, and Sabine shooting at security cameras above them. Rose and the two boys were looking around frantically, "Arashell? Where are you?" They called. Rey glanced down to see Arashell standing next to her side. She was pointing to something, "look!" She said excitedly, "the exit!" Everyone turned their heads to look where she was pointing.

There was indeed an open door, and Rey could see the night sky peeking through it. 

The pack of Rebels sprinted towards the doorway, they ran out into the open. The clear air felt refreshing to Rey, she took deep breaths as she studied her surroundings. She heard someone shouting, and there was a faint buzzing noice. 

"What is that?" Sabine shouted above the ear piercing alarm. Her question was quickly answered as five troopers on hover cycles shot around the corner of the prison. 

"Run!" Poe screamed and they all ran down the paved street. The street ended, and they turned a corner to see hundreds of people filling the road.

"Go through here!" Rose shouted, "we will blend in!" 

They all ran into the wave of people, pushing and shoving as they made their way through. Rey saw that Arashell was runing next to her again, "where are the Fathier stables?" She asked the girl, she pointed down a dusty alley, "down here, it connects to the underground stables." 

"Lead the way!" Rey told the girl as she turned to her friends beside her. "Everyone! Follow us!" She shouted as she followed Arashell down the dark alley. 

As the sounds of cars beeping and people talking faded away, Rey could hear the sound of pounding feet behind her. 

She glanced over her shoulder, to see the rest of her team on her heels. "How much farther?" She asked the girl in front of her. 

"Not much longer, I promise!" Arashell panted as she sprinted down the sandy road. "See? There's the door!" She pointed with her hand towards a metal wall. 

Just at that point, Rey realized that the three kids had miraculously kept up with the adults during their escape! 

_That's incredible! They must have some amazing stamina!_

They literally ran into the door as they reached it. Poe trotted upto it and turned the nob. The door opened silently, and he held it open as everyone ran inside. Then he ran in too, closing the door behind him. 

The room they were in was dark, and Rey could see nothing except pitch black. All she could hear was the heavy breathing of her friends. "Is there a light in here?" She heard Rose ask, and a few moments later, there was a click. The room lit up, and Rey could see that Temiri was up on a small stepstool. He had pulled on a rope which lead to a dull lightbulb on the ceiling. 

Rey sunk down to the ground, she realized that the ground was full of soft grass. "What? What is this place?" She asked as she peered around at her surroundings. There were large shovels hung up on the walls, and big saddles draped over the sides of hay bales. 

"This is where we keep the Fathier supplies." Oniho spoke quietly. 

"Fathiers?!" Poe spoke excitedly, "you mean they are real?! I've heard about them in stories, but the other pilots always said that they were myths." 

"Shh!" Temiri hushed the man, "our master might be awake! And I don't think he would want you here." 

"Oh, sorry." Poe apologized quietly.

"Yes," Rose whispered, "the Fathiers are real." 

"And you'll meet them here soon!" Finn spoke quietly, "you'll like them buddy."

"Uh, what are Fathiers?" Sabine asked.

"You'll see." Oniho told the young woman, "now shh!"

Timiri stood up and walked over to the door, he put his finger to his lips. Everyone got the idea and stayed quiet. The young boy opened the door slowly and walked out into the other room. He looked around and then motioned with his hand to follow him.

Rey stood up and followed Timiri out into the other room. This room was gigantic! It was hundreds of feet long, with lots and lots of doors lining the walls. 

Rose ran up to one of the doors excitedly, "hello?" She knocked on the door, "anyone here?" She looked up at the opening at the top of the door hopefully. 

There was a moan, and Rose nearly cried with joy when a Fathier stuck its head out.

"Woah!" Sabine said alarmed as she stepped back. 

Rose reached her hand up as the Fathier leaned its head down to her, "I'm so sorry," she said as she stroked its head, "we'll save you guys." 

Then, one by one, the Fathiers stuck their heads out of the stables. Rey could hear the  _thump thump_ as the creatures wagged their tails with excitement at seeing their friends. She heard the kids laughing, and looked over to see that some of the Fathier colts were sticking their long noses into their hair. Then Rey ran up to one of the stalls, and smiled as she saw her old Fathier friend stick her long head out. She roared gently and leaned her head down to nuzzle Rey's arm.

"Hi there" Rey softly spoke to the creature. It made a purring noice and rubbed its nose against the top of Rey's head. 

She sensed someone behind her, and turned to see Poe watching. 

"So that's a Fathier." He breathed, "they're beautiful!" 

"Here," Rey motioned Poe closer, "pet her, she likes it." 

She watched amused as he slowly reached his hand out towards the beast, he flinched as the Fathier rested her nose against his hand. Then he smiled, "h-hey boy, you guys are even cooler than they say you are!" 

Rey smirked, "uh," she leaned close to Poe's head, "its actually a female" 

Poe's face turned red, "oh, sorry girl." The fathier didn't seem bothered by his misunderstanding, she still purred against his hand.

Rey looked around her to see her friends greeting the Fathiers. Even Sabine had walked up to one and was stroking his white head.

Finn came up beside Rey, "so, how are we going to sneak 30 Fathiers out of the city?" 

"Yeah," Sabine chimed in, still petting the Fathier, "it seems a bit complicated!"

"Oh, we aren't going to _sneak_ them out," Rose said with a grin, "we're going to  _ride_ them!"


	11. some down time

"No no no!" Finn complained, " I'm not good at riding those things! " 

The fathier next to him snorted, sending spray all over the back of his head. The the three kids giggled at his grossed out face as he rubbed the mucus off his neck with his sleeve. 

 "Oh c'mon," Rose rolled her eyes at him, "you've got to admit, it wasn't that bad!"

 "I've rode worse things," Sabine chided in, "the Fathiers don't seem too bad." She said as she stroked the head of the creature beside her. 

 "You see?" Rose spoke matter of factly, " there are worse things to ride on. "

Finn still wasn't convinced, "meh," he just mumbled as he sat on a barrel of water. 

Rey decided to change the subject, "So Arashell," she asked the girl beside her, "how long does your master say asleep?"

 Arashell glanced around and saw that everyone was looking at her, "uhh..." Rey could tell that she was embarrassed, she didn't like having all this attention brought to her. "He normally sleeps until around midday, I guess gambling and fathier training wears the guy out."

 This perked everyone up, "great!" Poe sighed as he sunk to the ground, "we can have some down time." He leaned against the wall, eyes closed. "Wake me when we have to leave, I haven't slept for days!" 

 " This is quite nice, " Finn said as he sat down next to Rey, "I need some peace and quiet." 

Everyone was silent for a while, until Temiri broke the quietness. 

 "So Sabine," he asked the bounty hunter, "where'd you come from?"

 The mandalorian looked lost in deep thought until she realized that he was speaking to her, "what? I'm sorry, we're you taking to me?" 

 He nodded, eyes wide with curiosity.

 "Well," she began, "I belong to a crew, our ship is called the ghost. We work for the resistance, just like you guys do." She pointed towards Rey and the other three resistance fighters. 

 "Who's in your crew?" Rose asked, now she too was  interested in Sabine's story. 

 "We've got a droid, his name's chopper. He helps repair stuff around the ship with our pilot, Hera. She drives the ghost and other ships, kinda like your friend here."  She nodded her head towards the sleeping Poe in the corner. 

 "She's got a son named Jason. He's being currently trained by my Jedi friend, Ezra. Ezra's cool, he's around my age. And there's Zeb, the lasat. He's our main muscle." She then got a forlorn look on her face, as though she was reliving old memories, "Our leader was a Jedi named Kanan, he was Ezra's master and Jacen's father." She looked at the ground, "Sadly, he died a few years ago."

 "Oh," Arashell spoke sadly, "that's sad. I'm sorry Sabine."

 "How'd you get captured? And why isn't your crew here to help you?" Finn asked, Rey hasn't noticed he was listening to Sabine's story.

 The bounty hunter rubbed the back of her neck,"Well, I came here to pick up some supplies for the resistance, and I was discovered by troopers on the way." She said, slightly embarrassed, "but luckily i ran into you guys, and that saved me and my crew's butt. So i told them to wait for my signal, and they'll pick us up. "

 "So," She looked over at Finn, "i wasn't left behind, they're just waiting for me to call them." 

" Got it, "Finn responded.

Sabine looked over at Rey, "Are you a Jedi?"

 Rey was astonished,  _how did she know? Is she a Jedi too?_

 "Yes, "Rey nodded, "but not fully, I'm still in training." 

 "I thought so, the lightsaber kind of gave it away. " Sabine  shrugged her shoulders, " plus, I know how Jedi act. I watch the way these people respect you and listen to your words. " Sabine pointed to Rey, "and you my friend are a natural born leader, a common trait of the Jedi."

 Rey just stood there, She could find no words to say. 

 "You sure know a lot about Jedi," Finn eyed her suspiciously , "you sure you're not one yourself?" 

Sabine laughed, " I'm not a Jedi, but I'm best friends with one. I don't think that counts though. " 

Rey smiled,  _i might end up being friends with this girl,_ she thought to herself. 

Rey saw movement out of the corner of her eye,and she turned to see Poe waking up. 

 "What the?" He murmured as he glanced around. He was acting strange. 

 Then Oniho stood, "why's the ground rumbling?" 

 Everyone stood still and listened, the ground was vibrating! It was slightly at first, but it was getting stronger and stronger by the minute. 

Then, Rey got that feeling again, that horrible horrible feeling.  It was the same feeling she had felt right before Poe was caught, or right before Han was killed. It was a nauseous feeling of death and destruction, which meant only one thing...

_Danger was near._


	12. Take cover!

The Fathiers were growling and kicking their doors. Rey watched them as they snorted and sniffed the air.

_The Fathiers can sense it too..._

"Why is the ground shaking?!" Oniho cried, he pressed against Rose's leg.

The ground was rumbling stronger and stronger. Rey then heard another sound, a strange, familiar roaring noise. 

Poe stood up, "is that a plane?" 

"It sounds low, " Rose said nervously as she put her hand on Oniho's head. She glanced towards the ceiling, the roaring was getting louder. 

 Rey spoke up, "Something's wrong, I sense danger near." She peered anxiously around the stable room. 

 "What?" Poe glanced at her doubtingly, "that's impossible! How do you know that?" 

 "Actually," Sabine pointed out, " i believe her, Jedi can sense things you know. " 

 "How accurate are they?" 

 "Uh," Finn had his head stuck out the door and was looking at the sky, "pretty accurate, theres bombers flying above us!" He pulled his head back in and shut the door, "they know we're here!" 

Everyone gasped in terror.

 " No, no, no! " Poe yelled as he paced back and forth, "this is bad!"

 " We'll get blown to pieces for sure! " Sabine said worryingly. 

 This made the kids start crying, "hush Sabine!" Rose said protectively, "you're making them upset!" She tried to sooth the terrified children.

 "Oh, sorry." 

 Everyone started to talk over each other, and the Fathiers were growling and scraping at the doors. They made clanging noises as they turned circles in their stables. 

 "What should we do?!" 

 " There's no way out! "

 "This is it, we're toast." 

 " I don't want to die! " 

 "Rey! Do something!" 

 Rey just stood there, she was frozen in shock. She had nothing to say as everyone asked her what do. 

_I've never been a good leader._

She looked over at Finn, who was standing beside her at the moment. He was the only person other than Rey who stayed silent. He glanced over at her sympathetically, and then got a determined look in his eyes. He turned around to face the panicking people and animals. 

He had enough. 

 "SHHHUUUT UUUUUPP!" He literally roared over the other voices. Everyone was silent, even the Fathiers. They all looked at him, clearly startled from his outbreak. 

Rey was startled as well, she had never heard her friend be so aggresive.  _But hey, it worked well,_ she thought amusingly as she ran her eyes over the room. 

 Finn took a deep breath, "there, I can finally hear myself think." He turned to Rey, "now quickly, we must find a safe place for us to hide." 

 He turned to face everyone else, "any ideas?" 

 Nobody spoke a word, they just looked at each other quizzically.

 "Wait..." Sabine spoke softly. She was looking at the tops of the Fathier stalls. She pointed, "there, the tops of the stables are made of strong metal. Fire can't possibly pass through that!" 

" That's a good idea, " Poe said excitedly, "but is the ceiling above us made of the same substance?" 

"No," Temiri spoke, "the ceiling is literally made of dirt. We are underground, but not deep enough to protect us from bombs. "

They suddenly heard the bomber ship approach, it got louder and louder. But this time, there was a faint whistling. 

 " They're dropping a bomb! " both Sabine and Rose screamed simultaneously. 

"Hurry!" Poe shouted out orders, "get inside the empty stall!" 

They all sprinted past the Fathiers, who were still pacing back and forth. They were snorting nervously and some tried to kick the doors open. 

 "Wait!" Arashell cried, " what about them?! "

 "They'll be protected, just like we'll be." Rey reassured the young girl as she ran beside her, " they'll just get a little spooked, that's all. " 

Just as they reached the empty stable, there was a violent  _BOOM_. It knocked Rey off her feet and she was flung to the ground. 

She looked behind her to see that the stairway they had just been standing in was full of flames and debris. She just sat at the entrance of the stable, mesmerized by the massive fire before her. 

 "Rey!" She heard Finn shout her name. She turned to see him beside her, he helped her up and took her to the back corner of the stall. 

To Rey's relief, everyone was there. They were all huddled against the wall, eyes wide with terror as they stared past Rey and Finn at the fiery mess. 

 "Rey!" Finn was breathing hard, " are you alright?! " 

 "I'm fine," Rey spoke shakily as she leaned against the wall, "that was close."

 "I can feel the heat of the flames from here!" Poe said amazed as he held out his hand to feel the warmth. 

They all took in the incredible view before them, fiery debris lined the ground and smoldering ashes fell from the sky. 

_The sky..._

Rey could see the night sky!!! The bomb had blown a hole in the ceiling! 

 "Woah..." She heard Arashell breathe beside her. The young girl was as amazed as she was. 

 "Another hit like that, and we'll be blown to pieces for sure!" Poe spoke shakily. 

"We need to get out of this death trap." Rose said as she glanced around at the others. 

"You're right," Finn said as he started to walk towards the fiery wall. 

Rey grabbed his arm before he went out, "don't!" She ordered him.

"Oh calm down!" He rolled his eyes at her, " you're acting as nervous as Rose over here. " 

"Hey!" She snarled at him, "maybe we dont want you to turn into a burnt skeleton! You ever thought about that?!" 

" Fine, " he looked back into the worried Rey's eyes, "I won't get to close." 

" I'll come with you. " Rey followed him.

"Uh, no." He pushed her back gently, "you stay here and protect the rest. I'll be back." 

Before she could say no more, Sabine stood and started to walk towards the stable door, "I can't get a signal, I need a signal in order to call my crew." She pointed to her radio on her wrist. 

"There," Finn said, "I'll have her as back up, that make you feel better?" 

 "No." 

" Oh just... Stay here woman! " he commanded Rey. Sabine followed him outside the stable and out into the debris zone before them. 

He looked above them, "they are circling back around for another bombing, it will take them a few minutes to get back here." 

Finn and Sabine stayed in view so the rest could keep an eye on them. They were right beetle the giant hole in the roof, when Sabine suddenly stopped. 

"Stop, I've got a signal here," She pushed a button on her wrist, and she spoke into it. 

"Spector squadron, I repeat, spector squadron do you come in?" 

There was silence for a moment, and then a female's voice rang out. "Sabine!" It said, "thank goodness, where are you? Do you need a pickup?" 

" I'm here with 4 other rebels and three children, we are trapped in a Fathier stable which has just been bombed. We are looking for an exit, when we escape we'll meet you by the beach, got it?" 

There was a rustling noise, and the woman seemed to be speaking to some one off screen, "Yes, she's fine. We'll be picking her up in a bit. Wait, what do you mean the hyperdrive's down?! Ezra Bridger, if you and Chopper don't fix that thing right now you'll never see her again! Yes I'm serious! She's surrounded by bombs and stormtroopers, so you better get busy. " They all listened to the faint voice. 

Then she was back, "Alright spector 6, it'll be a while. Our hyperdrive's down, and it'll take a few minutes to fix it." 

 " That's fine, we'll see you soon. " Sabine spoke into her wrist. 

 "Spector 2, out." The voice said, then it was gone. 

 " Who was that? " Poe asked from across the room. 

 "That was my pilot, Hera." Sabine responded, "Finn, we've got to hurry. Did you find a way out?" 

 " I sure did! " he tilted his head towards one of the doorways, "right there, it leads out into the racetrack." 

 " Great! " Rose cheered from the stall. 

 "Cmon, follow us!" Finn called as he lead the way to the exit. 

Everyone ran out of the stable and followed him. 

Rey was running, when she suddenly saw the three kids stop. She stopped as well and saw that they were staring at the trapped Fathiers.

 "Wait!" Temiri cried, " what about the Fathiers?! "

Everyone else stopped sprinting towards the exit, and turned to the upset kids. 

 "We've got to get out of here!" Poe shouted.

 " But they'll die! " Oniho said sadly. 

 They all were all silent for a while, until Rose broke it. 

 "We can't just leave them here to die," She said.

 " Yeah, it would be kinda cruel. " Sabine chided in. 

Poe sighed, "Fine, but let's hurry."

They all ran to the stables and opened the doors. One by one, each Fathier galloped to the exit and out into the field. It didn't take long, until there were only a few left to free. They unlatched the gates and started towards the exit. "Hurry!" Finn shouted as they all ran through the hallway. They ran out into the field, panting and laughing. 

  _They were free!_

 "Yes!" Rey cheered as she ran out into the long, green grass.

Everyone was happy, they all ran out in the cool night air. The air felt truly pure now, not smoky and dirty like in the city. Rey breathed in and gazed up into the starry sky. 

Everything was perfect.

But that perfectness was crushed as she heard roaring behind her. 

It sounded sad.

She looked behind her to see her Fathier friend that she had rode on a few days ago pacing back and forth nervously. She seemed as though she was calling someone, but who. Rey watched her as she galloped around the field, moaning and growling anxiously. 

Then Rey heard a smaller roar from back in the smoky building. And she realized what was wrong.

_Her baby..._

 "Finn!" She screeched as she sprinted towards her friend, his smile disappeared as he heard her tell his name. 

 "What's wrong?!" He asked her as she approached him, " Rey, tell me! " 

She glanced behind her, "the Fathier's colt, she's still trapped!" 

 "Oh no!" She heard Rose cry, " we've got to help her! " 

 "Poe!" Finn yelled at his friend, "you and Sabine-" he whispered to the two people. Rey couldn't make out what they were saying. 

 As Finn stepped away from them, they both had a horrified expression on their faces. 

 "No, I can't do that buddy." Poe told him, " please, don't make me do that. " 

Finn stared him down, "you listen to me, that's an order. Both of you, got it?!" 

 "Finn-" Sabine started.

 "Got it?!" Finn nearly shouted.

 They both nodded their heads reluctantly. 

 "Good." He said as he walked away. 

He came up to Rose and hugged her, then he walked up to Rey and embraced her. 

 "Finn?" Rey asked him. 

 He stepped back and hugged the three kids as well, they all looked at him quizzically. 

 "Finn?" She asked again, " Finn, what's going on? "

 "What are you doing?" Rose asked him. 

 Finn turned back to Rey and gazed over her, as if it were the last time he would see her. 

Then, Rey felt Poe come up behind her. He grabbed her hands. Rey saw that Sabine was doing the same thing to Rose. "What?--" Rey asked again, then she realized what was going on. 

 "Finn. No." She told him, " Don't you dare! " 

 He started to run towards the burning building, "Finn! She screeched, "Stop! Get back here! Now!" 

 Then Rose caught on too, "Finn! No! It's not worth it!" She screamed after him. 

 Rey struggled to get out of Poe's grip, "Finn! Stop!" She screamed after him. She watched as he looked back and then disappeared within the flames and smoke. 

 "Finn!" The kids caught on as well, they started to run towards the building. 

 Rey caught them with the force and pulled them back. She held them still with invisible hands.

 "No!" They yelled and cried as they struggled to get free. 

 Then, Rey heard something that made her blood run cold. It sent ripples down her spine, and her heart nearly stopped. 

_The bomber was returning._

They watched horrified as the ship came into view and made it's way towards the burning building. The Fathiers looked up and ran away in fear. The mother Fathier was still roaring fearfully as the ship got closer and closer to her baby. 

 "Finn!" Rey screamed with anger as she tried to get free from Poe, she saw that Sabine was still holding Rose back as she tried to squirm away. 

 "Get out!" Sabine yelled, " the ship's coming! " 

 "Finn!" Poe yelled into his com, " get out of there now! The bomber's here! "

There was no response. 

The ship flew above the building, and released something. It flew through the sky, making a whistling sound. 

 " No!" The kids were sobbing now.

They all watched in horror as the bomb fell closer and closer to the building. It was impossible for Rey to stop it, and She felt absolutely helpless as it fell towards her friend. 

 "Finn!" They all screamed as the bomb hit the ground.

 __There was a thunderous boom, and they were knocked into their backs.

_Rey watched as the entire building caved in and exploded into flames._


	13. Close calls

" Finn! " Rey screamed as she watched the flaming destruction before her. 

 She sunk to her knees, "no...no. " She whispered to herself, "this can't be happening."

 She could hear Rose trying to comfort the sobbing kids, "it'll be ok, it'll be ok." She heard her cry to them as she hugged them tight against her. 

Rey felt a presence beside her, and glanced over to see Poe standing next to her. He too was staring at the fiery debris before them. By the look of his eyes, she could see that he too was distraught. 

She turned back to the destruction in front of her. 

Her soul was crushed...her first friend, her best friend in the whole universe was gone. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, she didn't even bother to wipe it off. Her eyes were still glued to the horrific scene before her. 

_No more sparring... No more adventures with him... No more of his jokes... No more of his stupid smirks when he proves me wrong at something..._

She thought to herself.

_No more of his cheerful laughing... No more of his aggressive protectivness... No more of his gentle embraces... She would never again feel his comforting arms wrapped around her or his soothing voice when he would wake her from nightmares..._

Rey fell with her face to the ground, she could hear the wails and cries of the people behind her. She could even hear Sabine sniffling. The bounty hunter hadn't even known them for 24 hours, yet she already cared about her new friends deeply.

Rey was close to crying as well.

 _No,_ she told herself,  _I've got to be strong... My team will be even more helpless if they see me fall._

Then Rey remembered, that day when she was captured by Kylo Ren. Nobody was going to rescue her, they were going to leave her there in that dreadful ship. Everyone, except for Finn. He had taken Han and Chewie with him, he had lied to the resistance, saying that he knew how to stop the first order. He risked his life, and the trust that the resistance had in him, just to go save her. 

He had no idea if she were alive or dead,  but yet...

_He refused to leave her behind._

Rey opened her tear drenched eyes, she knew what she had to do. Finn didn't abandon her, so she wasn't going to abandon him. 

She stood and wiped the tears off her face. She was no longer sad, but determined. Determined to find and save her friend. 

 Rey took off towards the burning building, ignoring her friends' protests. 

 "Rey?! What are you doing?!" Rose shouted at her, Rey didn't respond . 

 "No!" Poe screamed at her, " we can't lose you too! " He started to run after her.

Rey heard him chasing her, so she turned and threw out her hand. She used the force and pushed him back wards, he landed on his side and was knocked out. 

Rey then held out her hand and held Rose, Sabine and the three children in place, they shouted and cried for her to come back. 

"Rey! Please!" Rey 's heart froze as she heard the begging of Arashell's voice. But she refused to stop, she ran up to the fiery doom before her. 

 Rey took one last glance behind her, and threw herself into the burning building. 

********************************************

Rey was coughing before she even entered the hallway, now she was struggling to breath as the smoke burned her lungs. "Finn?!" She managed to choke out, " Finn?! Where are you?! " 

She covered her mouth with her tunic, and ran into the stable room. Her eyes struggled to see through the thick smoke that now filled the hall. She stumbled around the room, dodging flames as they burned around her.

Then, she found the empty stable that they had just been standing in. She gasped, the empty stall was now filled with fiery debris. The roof had caved in, and everything was crushed and burned. 

_That could have been us..._

She then heard a fearful cry of an animal, and turned to see the Fathier colt. She was standing inside a stable, there was a dark object laying next to her feet. 

_Finn...._

Rey ran over to the stall, and knelt down next to her friend. 

 "Finn!" She yelled his name as she shook his shoulders. He didn't respond. He was unconscious, and barely breathing. 

 _What should I do?! What should I do?!_ Rey panicked as she stared at her limp friend. 

There was no way that she could carry him by herself... but maybe the Fathier could. 

She turned to the colt, she was nickering and pawing the ground nervously. When Rey stepped foward, She backed away. 

 "Please!" Rey begged the creature, " please help me! We will all die if we can't escape! " 

The colt stopped panicking, and stared into Rey's eyes. She realized that Rey was speaking to her, and she  slowly trotted up to the girl. She rested her head in Rey's hands. 

" Thats a girl" Rey spoke softly to her as she lead the colt over to where Finn was laying. The Fathier knelt down, and Rey slowly drug Finn onto its back. The colt  was small, and her back only went up to Rey's shoulder. But she was stronger than she looked, and lifted both both people up easily. 

Rey sat on her back, one hand wrapped around the unconscious Finn and the other holding the Colt's black mane.

 "Let's get out of here!"  she told the Fathier. They had to escape, or both Rey and the creature would fall unconscious from the smothering smoke, just like Finn had. 

The colt trotted towards the open door, their only exit. 

Suddenly, there was a great crash and piles of burning debris fell before them. The colt bucked and neighed fearfully, nearly knocking Rey and Finn off her back. 

"Woah! " Rey yelled, "easy girl, easy." She patted the  Fathier's side. The colt stopped bucking, and relaxed at Rey's comforting touch. 

There was no other exit, no way out...

But....

_Lifting rocks._

 The voice echoed inside Rey's head. "Its just lifting rocks..." She whispered to herself. She released her hand from the colt's mane and held it out, keeping her other hand wrapped tightly around Finn's body. 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she concentrated on the debris before her. And ever so slowly, the objects lifted up into the air around them. Rey didn't have to open her eyes at all, she could see this happening in her mind. She tossed her hand to the side, and the fiery mess crashed against the wall. 

She opened her eyes triumphantly, and clutched the colt's mane. "Let's go!" She shouted and they took off through the open door. They shot through the hallway , and lunged out of the door. Rey took deep breaths, the air inside the building had been suffocating her. 

She could see her friends crying and cheering, their feet were still frozen to the ground. Rey released them and they sprinted towards her. The colt stopped and Rey slid off its back, with the passed out Finn still in her arms. She laid him down on the ground gently, and faced her overjoyed friends. Poe was awake from being knocked out, and reached her first. 

He nearly knocked her over as he embraced her. "You idiot!" He scolded her, " you shouldn't have done that! " but Rey could tell that he wasn't angry. He nearly crushed her insides as he hugged her. Rey smiled into his shoulder, the strong pilot was actually worried about her. He was protective of her, not in a special way like Finn was, but more like in a way of protecting a younger sibling. In other words, he was like her big brother that she never had. Then Rose ran up to them and pushed Poe out of the way to hug Rey. "Rey, don't do that again," She begged, Then she smirked, "i'd be left alone with all these men! I'd have no girls to talk to!" Both girls laughed at this, because it was true. 

The three kids bounced around Rey's feet excitedly, so she bent down to wrap her arms around their small bodies. "I'm glad to see you too!" She laughed as they put their little arms around her waist. 

 Finn was starting to wake, and Poe, Rose, and the three kids ran up to him. Rey giggled at his confused expression as they scolded and embraced him simultaneously. 

The Fathier colt had galloped up to her mother, and Rey smiled as the entire herd celebrated her safe return. 

Sabine walked up beside her, "hey," She spoke quietly and Rey turned her head to look at her , "I may seem like I don't care sometimes, but I did worry about you two. I'm glad you and Finn escaped safely."

Rey smiled, "thanks Sabine." She patted the bounty hunter's shoulder. 

They walked up to the rest of the team, Finn and Poe were pushing each other around playfully. Everything already seemed to be back to normal. 

 "Dude," Poe laughed as he nearly pushed Finn into a tree, " you'd risk your life for a horse?! What's got into you bro?! " 

Finn punched his side gently, "whatever, we all nearly got killed trying to save your butt!" 

 "Are you comparing me to a Fathier?" 

 " I sure am! " 

 " I'm not a space horse! " 

 "You sure smell like one!" 

 Finn laughed as he ran into Poe, nearly knocking him into Temiri. 

 "Hey!" Rose shouted, " watch it! " 

 "Alright ," they said, "we'll stop." 

 They walked away from eachother, but not before Poe snuck a punch to Finn's arm one last time. 

 Rose gave him a death glare, she looked quite scary for her size.

Poe backed away, hands in the air defensively, "ok, ok. I'll stop." 

Suddenly, there was a loud rumming. "Not again!" Oniho said angrily as 12 police troopers sped around the burning building. 

 "Quick! Hop on the Fathiers!" Rose shouted as she leapt onto one's back. 

Rey felt something soft and warm touch her neck, and she turned to see her Fathier friend. She had rubbed her nose against Rey's head, and knelt down for her to climb on. 

 _She must be thanking me for rescuing her baby._  

Rey thought as she leaped up onto the space horse's back. "Ya! Ya!" She heard Rose yell as she sped past them. Finn and Poe followed on their Fathiers, whooping like crazy people as they ran away from the police.

 Rey and her Fathier followed on their heels, and they soon caught up to the herd. Rey watched as Temiri and Oniho zoomed past her, riding on Fathiers of their own. Arashell didn't pass up Rey, but decided to ride beside her. 

They were galloping across a huge open field fill of long, green grass. Rey looked up at the starry sky, the sun was about to rise.

 " Wait! " she heard Poe shout, "where's Sabine!?" Now that Rey noticed , the mandalorian was nowhere to be seen. She glanced around frantically, trying to pinpoint her colorful armor in the herd of brown and black fur. 

 _Did we leave her behind?!_  

She thought to herself nervously. 

 "I'm up here!" A voice shouted from above them, and  she looked up to see Sabine flying. At first, Rey though she was hallucinating, but she then realized that the bounty hunter had a jetpack strapped to her back. 

"Woah!" Rey heard Finn say, " i want a jetpack! " 

Sabine laughed and shook her head, "sorry, it's a Mandalorian thing." 

Suddenly, Poe pointed to something ahead of them, "Cliff!" He yelled. Rey squinted her eyes and peered out in the distance. Sure enough, around 3 to 4 hundred feet away, there was a cliff drop. They were going to fall over the edge! 

"Turn!" Rose yelled as she tilted away from the drop off. She headed towards the thick forest, where maybe they could lose the troopers who were chasing them. The herd followed Rose and her Fathier, nearly going over the edge of the cliff. Rey watched as Temiri and Oniho turned away easily, but Arashell's fathier wouldn't veer away. 

"Stop!" She screamed as she got closer to the edge, " Turn away! Turn away! " Arashell tried to kick the young space horse in the side, but it still didn't turn. The fathier was too spooked from the police troopers behind them, that he didn't realize there was a cliff ahead. 

Rose screamed her name, but she was too far away to help her. Poe and Finn were too far from her as well, and Rey was too far to the side. Oniho was already  caught up to Rose, not aware that his friend was in terrible danger.  Sabine shot from Rey's side and headed towards the terrified girl, but there was no way she was going to reach her in time. 

Temiri had seen this start to happen, and was riding right next to Arashell. "Arashell!" He shouted at her, " take my hand! " She tried to grab his hand, but her arm was too short. She screamed and held back on to the Fathier. 

 They were only a few hundred feet from the cliff edge now, " Jump! " Temiri yelled. Arashell stood up shakily, and positioned herself to leap to her friend. She glanced over at him fearfully.

"I'll catch you!" Temiri told her, " I promise! " 

She closed her eyes, and jumped across the two Fathiers. She couldn't leap far enough, and came up a few feet short. She screamed and fell towards the ground, until Temiri reached out and caught her hand. He and his space horse turned at the last second, sending small pebbles over the side of the dropoff. 

The fathier the girl had just been riding on realized his mistake too late, and he disappeared over the edge of the cliff. 

Rey gasped as Arashell hung by only the boy's hand. It looked as though she would fall and be trampled by the herd of space horses. Luckily, Sabine flew over to them, and pushed the girl up onto the Fathier's back. 

Arashell was shaking. She hugged Temiri tightly as they rode towards the rest of the herd.

 Rose rode up next to them, "Are you alright?!" She asked frantically. 

Arashell nodded and started to calm down a bit. "But... The colt..." She whispered as to she glanced behind towards the cliff. 

 "It'll be ok," Poe told her gently, this was the softest Rey had ever heard him speak to someone, "It wasn't your fault, and at least you are alright."

 Arashell shrugged, and they galloped on.

Rey glanced behind her, and the police troopers where nowhere to be seen. "I think we've lost them." She told the others. 

But right as she said this, there was a sudden " _whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh"_ noise. They looked up to see small fighter planes flying towards them, their guns aimed right towards the Fathier herd.  

There was no way they could outrun fighter jets.

 " oh, no..." Sabine murmured, "I think you just jinxed us Rey..."


	14. Nearly trampled, Then everything's ok, Then it isn't...

The fighter planes fired a long string of laser bullets down at the rebels. The Fathiers reared up and roared fearfully, nearly knocking the humans off their backs.

"Ahh!" Rose shrieked as a laser zoomed just a few inches away from her head.

Then a Fathier got shot, right in the side. He fell over, dead. The bullet somehow killed it instantly. This made the herd panic more, and they began a stampede.

They galloped down into a sandy valley, the troopers still firing at them from above.

Rey looked down, and found that the ground had turned to rock. She glanced up and saw that they were headed towards a massive rock formation. She could see the tips of green trees peeking over the top.

"Dang!" Poe shouted over the bullet fire, " these lasers are killer! We've got to find shelter! "

"Up there!" Rey yelled as she pointed to the mountain before them, " the Fathiers are going to climb up that thing! The troopers can't follow us into the forest! "

Then she suddenly heard the sound of more bullets firing down at them, so she turned around and activated her lightsaber. She managed to balance standing up on the running Fathier's back.

"Rey!" Finn shouted at her, " don't take out your saber! It'll attract their attention to you! "

She grinned viciously at him, "that's the idea!"

He grumbled something about her being too risky and rode by her side, aiming his gun at the fighters' cannons. Rey was impressed by his balance, for he too stood on the Fathier's pelt.

Finn was correct, and sure enough the troopers started to fire at the Jedi and former stormtrooper below them. Rey blocked each laser swiftly with her lightsaber, as Finn shot down the fighter jets one by one.

Rey suddenly accidentally missed a lazer, and it shot into her Fathier's leg. The space horse screeched in pain, and started to stumble. This made Rey get unbalanced, and she flew off headfirst. 

She screamed and was about to hit the ground, when she suddenly felt a warm hand grab her wrist. Her face was just a few inches away from the dirt covered ground.

Rey glanced up to see who had saved her from being trampled, and saw that Finn had snatched her wrist with one hand. He still had his pistol in the other hand, aiming at the last trooper. 

 "I told you that was dangerous!" He shouted angrily at her, " you're lucky I was here! Otherwise you would've been smashed into the ground! "

He yanked her up onto the Fathier's back with him, which Rey noted must've taken a lot of strength. Pulling up a woman with one hand can't be easy. 

She sat in front of him, and held tightly onto the space horse's mane. She searched frantically for the Fathier that she was just riding on, the one that was shot. Rey was relieved when she saw her running next to her baby.  She was clearly in pain and limped badly as blood poured out of her wound, but somehow she managed to keep up with the herd.

Rey felt guilt build up in her chest, it was her fault that the Fathier was injured.

 _At this rate, she may bleed to death..._ Rey looked away from the mother and baby,  but this didn't help any of the guilt that was inside her.

She decided to focus her mind on something else.

"Was that all of them?" She asked as she looked around for more troopers. 

 "We killed them all," he told her, "but most likely  there's more on the way." 

 " We better hurry then! " Poe yelled as he rode past them.

Rey and Finn nearly fell off as the Fathier they were riding on gained speed. Rey clutched onto its long mane, and she felt Finn wrap his arms around her waist. His body pressed against her, which made it harder for her to slip of the side. 

She heard Rose shout excitedly, and looked up to see that they were about to climb the rocky mound. She closed her eyes as she felt herself fly higher and higher up into the air. 

She felt brave, so she glanced around as they climbed the large cliff. They were already fairly high from the ground, and saw that the rocks and fields below them were shrinking. Rey glanced over the Fathiers long ears to see Rose, Poe, and the three kids riding in front of them. Sabine was still flying above them on her jetpack.

Then Rey looked over her shoulder, and saw the sparkling ocean. 

 "Woah..." She heard Finn breathe behind her, he too saw the beauty. 

It was magnificent, the sun was just rising over the horizon which made the water turn a shimmering red, orange and yellow. It was one of the most amazing, perfect things Rey had ever seen in her life.

Before she knew it, they had reached to top of the cliff, and were now staring out into the ocean. 

Everyone had the same reaction that Rey and Finn had, and it amused her to see the look on their faces as they gazed out at the water. 

The Fathiers had stopped running, and were now grazing in the long grass that they had landed in. 

Rey slid off the side of the space horse, eyes still glued at the shimmering sunrise before her. She finally took her eyes away and glanced beside her, to see Finn looking out into the water just as she was. 

She looked into his eyes, and enjoyed how they reflected the perfect picture in front of them. His brown eyes suddenly moved and were now gazing at hers. She turned away, extremely embarrassed that he had caught her doing this. She hoped that he wouldn't see her blushing.

She felt his hand touch her shoulder and he turned her back to face him. She nervously looked into his dark eyes, wondering what his intentions were. He started to lean in towards her, when there was a sharp cry. 

This broke the mood completely, and they both turned quickly towards the noise. 

Rey's blood went cold as she saw what was happening, somehow, the troopers had made their way up the mountain. They had snuck up behind them, and now had Sabine in their grasp. She struggled to get free as they wrapped their arms around her body, holding her in place.

  The tallest trooper stepped forward and aimed a large gun at the mandalorian's head , "Nobody move, or the girl dies."

 

 

 


	15. The loss of a good friend

"Hold on here," Poe started walking foward, " I'm sure we can just come to an agreement. Now there's no need-"

The man with the gun snarled at him, "One more step boy, and her head gets blown off!" 

 Poe froze in midstride, hands in the air. 

 "Now, all of you," the head trooper spoke menacingly, "give over your weapons, and put your hands where I can see them!" 

 Rey was angry, she was sick of her and her friends being captured. She took out her lightsaber, started it, and began to walk quickly towards the troops. With her eyes blazing with anger, she slowly swung her saber in circles at her side as she got closer to them. 

 She heard Finn and the others cry out in protest, but she paid no mind to them.

The troopers were panicking, but the head trooper ordered them to stay put. 

 "I command you girl!" He yelled at Rey, "freeze!"

 Rey still didn't stop, she trotted on with a furious glare in her eyes. 

 The leader shouted at the troopers holding Sabine, "kill her!" 

********************************************

 Sabine winced as she heard the pistol next to her head go off, but there was no pain. She wasn't dead. She opened her eyes to see Rey standing before them, hand out and eyes focused. The bounty hunter glanced to the side to see the frozen laser bullet just a few inches from her forehead. She watched with her mouth slightly open as the Jedi swung her hand to the side and sent the bullet into the troop leader's head. He yelled in pain and fell to the ground, dead. 

The man holding Sabine released her, and she ran back to the rest of the rebels. 

She gazed in awe as the young Jedi swung her saber and took out the troopers.

********************************************

After Rey knew that Sabine was safe, she went after the rest of the troops. They tried to shoot at her, but she easily reflected the shots and sent them back to the attackers. She killed one by one, either sending them flying over the cliff or shooting them in the side. 

After a while, the last three troops gave up. They dropped their guns and ran away. 

Rey breathed in deeply as she turned off her saber and  spun around to meet her friends eyes, they looked relieved. 

 "Holy cow girl, " Poe laughed at he picked his weapon up off the ground, " I've never seen you that violent before! " 

 Rey was embarrassed, "I didn't do it out of anger, I did it to protect my friends..." She looked down at the ground. 

As the rebels ran around cheering happily, Rey looked around at what she had done. She felt sick at the sight of the dead bodies that lay before her. 

_The people she had killed..._

Luke always warned her to not give into her anger, for it led to the dark side. But she was protecting her friends, not killing out of fury. 

_That doesn't count as giving into my anger, right?_

Rey shuddered at the thought.

Then Rose came up beside her, "you alright Rey?" 

 Rey snapped out of her worry, and faced her friend. "Yeah, I'm alright."

  She paused for a moment. 

 "Hey Rose?" 

 " Yes? "

 "Did i get carried away back there?" 

 Rose looked at her, she seemed to be stunned that Rey had even asked her the question. 

'"Of course not! If you wouldn't have attacked those troopers, we would all be captured...or worse...  Am i right? "

Rey shrugged, "I guess..." 

 "Listen, you did the right thing back there" Rose patted her back reassuringly, "don't worry about it." 

 Rey smiled a little, "thanks." 

 "Help! She needs help!"

 They spun their heads around at the small voice, and saw Temiri kneeling next to a large furry object on the ground.

Rey's blood ran cold,  _the Fathier...she's bleeding to death..._

Rey and Rose sprinted over to the collapsed space horse. Rey knelt down next to her head, "hi girl" she said softly as she stroked her head. The creature snorted softly, but didn't lift her head up to lean into Rey's touch as she normally would.

The Fathier's sides were heaving, she was panting heavily. Her wound on her leg was bleeding extremely, and there was a pool of her own blood under her body. 

_Why hadn't i helped her earlier?!_

Rey mentally punched herself angrily, she was busy fighting troopers and protecting her friends that she had nearly forgotten about the injured space horse. 

 Finn and the others came up behind her, but she didn't acknowledge them. Right now, Rey's main focus was keeping this creature alive. 

 "Rose?" She turned to her friend, "Rose, I don't know what to do..."

  Rose's eyes sunk back down to the ground, "Rey, I don't think we can save her." 

 Rey's eyes got watery as she saw Arashell craw up beside her, she stroked the Fathier's ears.

 "You mean, she's going to die?!" She asked.

Rose refused to meet Arashell or Rey's eyes.

 "There must be something we can do!" The young girl cried, "what about her baby?!" 

 She pointed to the colt laying next to her injured mother's body. She had her small head rested next to her mother's, sniffing her nose softly. 

  Sabine knelt down next to the crying girl, "hey, maybe you guys could keep her. You could raise her and be her family." 

 Rose looked up at her, "what about your crew? Would they be ok with having a Fathier colt onboard?" 

 " I'll convince them, " Sabine said reassuringly, "I promise." 

 The Fathier herd was now gathered around them, heads bowed sadly at the sight of their dying friend. 

 The injured Fathier was now breathing slowly, and blood no longer poured out of her wound. Rey felt a lump in her throat, she knew that there was no way they could save her now. Finn bent down next to her, one hand around her shoulder comfortingly. 

Rey bent down and softly kissed her Fathier friend's head, "I'm so sorry," She whispered. 

The Fathier snorted, and without moving her head, glanced down at her colt next to her. 

Rey understood, "don't worry, I'll take care of her... I promise." 

 The Fathier made a noise that sounded somewhat like a relieved sigh, and then slowly lifted her head to press her nose against each of the crying kid's foreheads. A gesture that seemed to say,  _it'll be ok, don't cry._

She then rested her head on the ground, and closed her eyes. Rey and Rose stroked her head gently, they kept at this until her side stopped rising. 

Rey pressed her ear against the Fathiers chest, and no longer heard a heartbeat. 

 

 


	16. Sorrow

Rey couldn't hold it in any longer, this was too much for her.

She whispered into the dead Fathier's fur, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" She said softly as she felt tears trail down her cheeks

She was very close to crying.

Rey didn't hear the sniffles of the people around her, or the sad roaring of the Fathiers as they too cried out. 

All she could hear were the voices that screamed inside her head...

_You're the reason she's dead...._

_You could have saved her...._

_You could have blocked the bullet..._

_It's your fault..._

_You've failed everyone...._

Finn's gentle touch broke her away from her nightmarish thoughts. She turned to gaze at him with watery eyes. 

 "C'mon " he said gently, "let's go into the forest, we need to stay out of sight."

 He put an arm around her shoulder, and led her to the thick patch of trees that stood before them. The others followed, including the entire Fathier herd.

Rose, still rubbing her teary eyes, hugged the sniffling kids as they walked into the dark shadows of the forest. Poe and Sabine followed, but they were silent. Nobody spoke a word, there was nothing to say. 

Rey settled down against a tree, and glanced out to where the dead Fathier was laying. The colt was still nestled next to his mother's body. 

Rey looked away, feeling that guilt in her stomach again. 

There was a sudden beeping noise that startled everyone at once. Sabine lifted her hand and pushed a button on the device on her wrist. 

It beeped one more, and there was a hologram of a woman. She was a green twi'lek, and was dressed like a pilot. Her arms were crossed, and she was leaning on one leg.

Rey raised her head curiously as she listened to their conversation. 

 "Spector 2, you here yet?" Sabine asked as she tapped her for against the ground impatiently. 

The woman, Rey guessed whose name was known as Spector 2, rolled her eyes. "We're entering the system now." She said with an apologetic look on her face, "around 30 more minutes, sorry Sabine." 

 Sabine smirked, "Alright, thanks. See you soon. Spector 5, out."

 She flipped a switch on the device and the woman disappeared. Sabine sighed as she sat down on the ground, "well guys, we still have half an hour left before they pick us up. Might as well rest." 

 She picked a giant leaf off the plant next to her, and placed it over her face, "wake me when they get here."

 Poe stood up and brushed the leaves off his pants, "I'm going to keep watch for them." He said as he walked towards an opening between some trees. 

Rose was sitting next to the three kids, she was trying to cheer them up with a story. A story, Rey assumed, that her mother told her when she was a child. It apparently worked well, because the children around her were watching with shining eyes.

Finn, who was out exploring the area, came up and tapped Rey's shoulder. She glanced up at him. He waved for her to follow him, so she stood up and made her way after the man. 

He led her through the forest, and out into a little opening. As Rey walked through the thick brush, she saw that they had come to a small beach. The ocean gently brushed up against the pale sand, and made a  meditative sound.

 "I thought this would help your nerves" Finn said as he sat down in the sandy ground, he patted the ground next to him. Rey sat down next to him, she sighed shakily as she stared out into the blue water. It was indeed calming, for she closed her eyes and took deep breaths. The air tasted salty, something Rey wasn't familiar with. 

Finn put an arm around her, hugging her from the side.

Rey's mental dam broke, and she burst into tears. She turned and wrapped her arms around Finn, sobbing into his chest. 

He responded by wrapping his own arms around her, one caressing her back and the other stroking her hair softly. 

 "Shh," he soothed, " just let it all out Rey. Nobody can see you doing this, just let it out. " 

He held her tight as she shook violently, she didn't have to worry about hiding her emotions here. The only things here to experience her meltdown were her best friend and the ocean. And she knew that neither of them would judge her for her weakness.

 "It's my fault the Fathier died, I should have blocked the bullet." Rey cried into Finn's shoulder, "it's because of me that the colt's an orphan!"

 Finn whispered against her neck, "it wasn't your fault Rey, it was the trooper's.  You did your best to protect us, and nearly got killed in the process. There was no more you could have done." 

 Rey shrugged under his arms.

 "You know," he added, "the colt won't be an orphan, she'll have you as her mother." 

 This made Rey smile, "I guess so ."

 " She'll have a good life, " Finn grinned as he let go of her, "you'll do a good job of raising her." 

 They just stared at eachother, eyes glimmering from the rising sun. They both turned and gazed at the sunrise. 

 "Beautiful, huh?" Finn asked her. 

She nodded, " uh hu, much prettier than the sunrises on Jakku. " 

 "Are you feeling better now?" 

 " Yeah, thanks Finn. " 

 "No problem, now let's get back to the rest before we miss our ride home." 

 They both stood up and brushed the sand of their legs. Rey noticed Finn staring at her, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. 

 "Race ya!" He said, one eyebrow raised.

Rey laughed, "Oh, you're on!" 

 And they raced back into the forest after their friends.


	17. Saying goodbyes

Everyone was startled as Rey burst through the bushes, laughing victoriously. Finn nearly tripped as he stumbled through after her. 

 "That's.... Not fair!" He panted as he bent over, hands on his knees. "You can't hold me back with the force in a race!" 

Rey laughed heartily, " it's impossible to beat a Jedi in a race!"

 " But you cheated! " 

 "Doesn't matter, I won."

 Finn walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, we all know who the REAL winner was."

Rey giggled as she pushed him away jokingly, "whatever, you're just a sore loser!"

Finn was about to throw her to the ground, until they heard Poe shout.

Everyone snapped their head to where he was approaching, "guys!" He stopped running, "they're here!"

 Rey ran out of the forest, and peered up at the sky. Sure enough, there was a ship preparing to land. It looked slightly smaller than the falcon, but everyone would fit in it fine. Including the Fathier colt.

 _The colt..._  

Rey turned and could make out between the trees the small figure of the Fathier colt laying in the grass. She was still laying next to her mother's body.

 "I'll be back," Rey told Finn and Poe as she passed them. She walked through the trees, making her way to the colt. 

She glanced to the side, and saw Rose telling the Fathiers goodbye. The young mechanic was stroking their sides softly, and was whispering words to them. 

Rey joined her side, and stroked the ears of one of them. "You were right Rose, these are the coolest creatures I've ever seen." 

 Rose nodded sadly, still keeping her eyes on the herd. "You think we'll ever see them again?" 

 Rey grinned as one Fathier sniffed her forehead, "yeah, I think we will." 

 Rose smiled and kissed one of the colt's on the head, "I'll see you soon Copper." He nickered softly, and pressed his nose against her hand. "I bet you'll grow a lot while I'm gone." 

 Rey stared in disbelief, "you named him?"

 Rose turned to her, wiping her eyes. "Yeah, I gave all the colts names." She grinned as she pointed to the three Fathiers in front of her. She pointed to the mother, "This is the mom, I call her Moon. She's lighter colored than the rest." She added.

 "And these are her babies, Copper and Paige. Coppers the darker one, and Paige is the sandy colored one, I named her after my sister." She nodded towards the two frolicking colts.

 "But I didn't name the rest of the herd, they all look alike."

 Rey glanced over at the colt next to her dead mother, "what about her?" 

 Rose peered through the trees at  the bundle of fur on the ground, "oh, I didn't name that one. I thought that you should have the honors of naming her, being the owner and all." 

 Rey shook her head quickly, "I didn't claim the colt! She's not mine!" 

Rose rolled her eyes, "oh c'mon Rey, we all know that you were friends with her mother. I saw how you reacted when she died, so you are the obvious choice for her baby's caregiver." 

 " I've never taken care of something before, I don't have the experience." 

 Rose aimed her finger at Rey's face, "liar! You cared for bb8 when he was lost!" 

 " But he's a robot, that doesn't count!." Rey then pointed back towards the herd, "what about her herd? Won't they take care of her?"

 Rose shook her head sadly, "no Rey, they won't. For some reason, Fathiers don't take care of each others young. I don't know why, but they just don't. They believe that a colt is only its mother's responsibility, not everyone's."

 Rey stared at her friend, eyes wide in disbelief, "they would leave her to die?!" 

 "Yes, and that's why we can't leave her here. That's why you have to raise her."

  "I don't know..." Rey said nervously.

Rose spoke softly, "I'm going to be busy taking care of these kids. Finn and Poe aren't big fans of animals, and Sabine is busy with her crew." 

 Temiri ran up to Rose, "you are taking us with you?!" 

 Rose nodded down at him, smiling, "of course! I wouldn't leave you guys behind!" 

 "Yay!" The kids cheered as they heard her say this. Then they raced each other out of the forest, heading to where Finn, Poe, and Sabine were gathered. 

Rose faced Rey once more, "what I'm saying Rey, is that she needs an adoptive mother. And you are the best choice. Plus, i heard you promise her mom that you would look after her baby." 

 Rey stared at her alarmed, "you heard that?" 

 She nodded, "I sure did. Now hurry up and get the colt on board, we're about to leave." She pointed to the ship above them. 

Rey nodded, and they went their separate ways. 

Rey came opon the colt laying in the long grass, still pressed up against her mother. The young creature looked up at Rey with sad eyes. Rey noticed, that unlike the other Fathiers, this particular colt had dark blue eyes.  Her coat was different as well. Unlike the normal colors of brown and tan, she had black and grey patterns on her fur. The only touch of tan she had was  around her muzzle and on her legs.

Rey admired her uniqueness, and squatted down next to the fearful animal. 

 "Hi there," She spoke softly as she reached her hand out to stroke the colt's head. The Fathier flinched away from Rey's touch, she clearly wasn't used to human interaction. Rey brought her hand back.

_How will i get her to trust me?_

She wondered as she looked around for help. 

 Her eyes gazed to a small patch of flowers and saw the colts that Rose had named Copper and Paige grazing in them. They munched down happily on the purple petals, enjoying their meal. 

Rey got an idea, she trotted over to the flower patch. She reached down to the ground and pulled up some of the lavender blooms. She carefully walked back over to where the orphaned colt was eyeing her curiously. Rey squatted down a few feet from her and held out her hand full of flowers. The Fathier slowly reached out her head and sniffed the air. She had her eyes glued on Rey, watching for any signs of aggression. 

Rey grinned at the nervous colt, "don't worry, I won't hurt you." 

  It seemed as if she could understand what Rey was saying, for the Fathier stood and trotted over to where she was squatting. She stuck her soft nose into Rey's palms and started to munch on the flowers in her hand. 

 "That a girl!" Rey laughed as she pet the colt's head with her free hand. 

In just a few moments, the space horse had eaten all the flowers. She looked up at Rey and nickered softly. 

Rey watched sadly as the colt started to walk back to her mother. 

_She doesn't understand..._

 "Hey!" Rey called after her.

The colt stopped in her tracks and turned her head around to peer at the strange human. 

 " We have to leave. " Rey told the young Fathier as she pointed to the landing ship behind them, "you need to come with me." 

 The colt looked at her confusingly, but Rey sensed that the space horse could understand every word she was saying. She just didn't know why they were leaving her mother.

 "I'm sorry..." Rey told the colt sadly, "but your mom is dead, she isn't coming back." 

The young creature looked at Rey, eyes wide with horror at what she had just said. The colt had known all along, but she was too scared to leave her mother's side. 

The forlorn Fathier looked back at her dead mother sadly, and let out a cry. 

Rey felt bad for her, she knew what it was like to lose family. Knowing that they would never return, but yet still having hope that they'd come back. 

 " Please girl, " Rey begged the creature, "if you don't come with me you'll die." 

 The Fathier's blue eyes met Rey's eyes, a gesture that  said... _Are you sure about this?_

Rey understood, "I promise, I'll watch over you." 

 The colt took one last glance back at her mother's body, and then galloped up to Rey. Ears alert and eyes shining excitedly. 

 "Alright!" Rey spoke happily, "let's go!" 

 Side by side, the girl and Fathier ran through the trees and out into the open where the group was watching the ship land. 

Rose smiled at her and the colt as they passed through. Rey walked up next to Finn, the colt trotting at her heels.

 "I see you've made a new friend! " Finn said cheerfully as he took a look at the young space horse. He stuck out his hand to pet her, but the colt backed away quickly. Snorting nervously, she walked over to Rey's other side. 

 "Yikes!" Finn said as he turned back towards the landing ship, "not very friendly though..." 

 Rey laughed, "she's cool, once you meet her. She just  doesn't like strangers." 

 "Our maybe i just smell bad." Finn grinned jokingly.

Rey smirked, "possibly." 

They all watched as the ship landed on the ground smoothly. There was silence for a while, until a loud  _clang_ as the ramp opened up. 

Standing on the ramp, was the twi-lek from the hologram. As the ramp touched the ground, she stepped off and onto the grassy planet. 

 "Did you have a good vacation Sabine?" She smiled as she spotted out the Mandalorian. 

 "Oh, I had a blast."  The bounty hunter spoke sarcastically as she started to walk towards the ship. 

She quickly hugged the woman on the ramp, "thanks for picking us up Hera." 

 The woman, Rey now knew whose name was Hera, spoke, "oh, it was no problem. I'm happy to help." 

 She waved at the three kids, and they waved back shyly.

Sabine gazed up the ramp. "Oh great," She laughed.

Rey watched as a tall figure strolled down the ramp, it was a young man. He had dark blue... Almost black hair and looked around the same age as Sabine.  But unlike her he appeared very ominous, and he carried a serious look on his face. 

Rey caught sight of a lightsaber strapped to his hip,   _he's a Jedi!_

The young man was very silent for a few moments. There was no noise but the sound of the ocean waves hitting against the shore. 

The man suddenly got a huge grin on his face as he saw Sabine, and his scary appearance faded away just like that. 

 " 'Bine! " he cried happily as he ran down the ramp clumsily.

 "Bean?!" Oniho and Temiri whispered to each other and cracked up laughing. They were silenced by a quick elbow to the ribs by Arashell. 

 "Ssh!" She ordered them.

Rey watched in amusement by how the man who seemed so serious and strict at the beginning, changed so quickly when he saw Sabine. It's as though he grew a few ages younger as he spoke to his friend. 

 "How are you? Did you have fun in that prison?" He laughed, "I heard that you got caught, luckily these people here were able to bust you out." 

 "Uh hu," Sabine said, one eyebrow raised and arms crossed. "Sure, but I could have gotten myself out easily." 

 The boy laughed, "I'd have to save your butt either way!"

 Sabine turned to her rebel friends, " You guys know about Hera." She nodded towards the pilot, then she turned to the boy next to her, " And this here is Ezra, the psycho one."

He smiled and nodded to them, "Hello." 

Rey grinned and waved back. It was odd that a Jedi could go from acting so serious to being so suddenly boyish. 

Rey turned and nodded her head towards Hera as well. 

The female pilot stepped forward, "Hello everyone, and welcome to the Ghost."


	18. Trust

" All aboard! " Hera shouted as she walked up into the ship.

Rose was the first to follow, "this is going to be so cool!" She squealed excitedly as she ran up the ramp and disappeared from view. Temiri, Oniho, and Arashell were on her heels, sprinting into the ship after her. 

Sabine and Ezra were still on the ground, watching quizzically as the young woman and kids ran into the Ghost excitedly. 

 "I've never seen someone that excited to fly in a ship before!" Ezra chucked as he and Sabine walked through the door.

 "We might as well follow." Poe said as he too started up the metal ramp. Rey and Finn followed, taking in their surroundings.

Rey shivered, "I don't know Finn, you think we can trust them?" She said as she walked into the small room in the ship. She sat down on a crate in the corner, Finn leaned against the wall beside her. 

 "I think we'll be ok, they act like nice people. Sabine seems trustworthy enough, so i assume her crew is the same way." Finn said as he laid a hand down on her arm reassuringly, "I know you have a rough time trusting strangers Rey, but i think you can rely on these people." 

 Rey nodded and pet the Fathier's soft ears. She realized that the colt had followed her without question.  She admired her bravery, and the trust she had put in Rey touched the young Jedi. The colt was curled up against the crate, and had her head rested on Rey's lap. 

Rose was sitting on the floor, the kids gathered around her. And Poe was leaning against the wall next to Finn. 

Everyone looked up as a door above them opened, and Sabine came crawling down a ladder. 

 "Hey guys," She summoned them with her hand, "follow me." 

 She climbed back up and held the door open for them. They all went up the ladder one by one, until Rey was the last one down there. As she stepped up the ladder, she felt something press against her thigh. She looked down and saw that the colt had pressed her snout against Rey's leg. She snorted nervously. 

 "Don't worry," Rey soothed the nervous creature as she patted her head, "I'll be right back. Don't get into trouble down here." She looked back up and climbed the ladder the rest of the way. 

 The Fathier kept her eyes on the girl until she vanished from sight. She laid down directly under the door and watched for her new friend to return.

 


	19. New friends

Rey watched as Hera lifted the ship off the ground. 

 "Finally!" Poe sighed as he rubbed his forehead with his sleeve, "I'm glad to get off this planet!" 

Finn glanced towards him frowning, "what's so wrong about this place? I think it's beautiful!" 

When he said this, Rose and Poe both snapped their heads to glare at him. Finn got the idea and said no more. 

Then Rey remembered,  _The falcon!_  

She ran up to Hera and leaned over the seat, " hey, we crashed our ship down there somewhere, could you somehow take it with us?" She pointed down towards the thick forest below them. 

 "Of course!" Hera said happily, "just point to where it's located." She flew the ship down, until it was brushing against the tips of the tall trees. 

 "Uhh..." Rey mumbled as she searched for her beloved ship. She embarrassingly glanced back at Rose and Finn for help, "you guys remember where we crash landed at?" 

 Both rebels walked up and looked out the window. 

 "Err," Finn spoke nervously as he scanned for the ship below them, "I don't know, all these trees look alike!" 

 Rose shook her head as well, "I honestly have no idea..." 

 Rey sighed sadly, there was no way they were going to find her ship now. 

 "Wait!" Sabine said from the copilot's seat, "let me fly out there, I can probably get a better view." 

 Hera nodded, "Good idea Sabine, Ezra go help her search." 

 "C'mon, let's go." Sabine said as she walked by Ezra, who was sitting on a small stool next to her. He followed her out the doorway, and a few minutes later Rey could see them flying on jetpacks out in front of them. 

Here's stopped the Ghost in midflight, hovering above the forest. As they watched the two people search, there was a sudden clang and the automatic door behind them opened. 

Everyone turned their heads to peer at the intruders. Rey saw Hera relax as a small droid came riding in, he spun in circles and screeched angrily. 

 "Chopper!" Hera yelled at the droid, "shut up and calm down! What's the matter with you?!" She slapped its metal head, which made him stop beeping noisily. 

Then a catlike creature came running through the door, apparently chasing the droid. Rey watched amusingly as he ran after the droid, shouting ferociously. "Hera! Choppers getting on my last--" he stopped complaining as he saw the visitors. 

 "Who's this?" He asked as he froze and pointed at them. 

 "They helped Sabine escape from prison,"  Hera said as she spun around in her chair to face the creature, who was apparently part of her crew. "They are with the resistance, and i thought it would be nice to give them a ride home. It's the least we could do." 

Then the twi-lek glanced around the room alarmingly, "Zeb, where's Jacen?"

 The creature known as Zeb scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "Well, you see Hera, he's playing hide and seek, and he's hiding around here somewhere." He glanced around, ears back in frustration. /p>

 Hera shook her head. And with a small grin on her face, She turned back around to face the windshield. 

Rey suddenly sensed fear coming from the kids beside her,  she glanced over to see Temiri, Oniho, and Arashell hiding behind a crate. They were quivering fearfully. Rose stood beside them, trying to convince them to come out. 

 "Oh, it's ok little guys." Zeb said apologetically as he caught sight of the scared kids, "I won't hurt you."  

Then he cried out in pain as the droid, known as Chopper, ran into his backside. "now, I might hurt this stupid hunk of metal here!" He tried to punch the robot, but swung and missed. 

The kids laughed as they stepped out from behind the crate. They watched giggling as Zeb tried to catch the misbehaving droid. Chopper was wheeling around the room, beeping and chirping happily.

 Rey saw Rose and Finn grin beside her, and even Poe  cracked a smile as they watched the fight take place. Rey couldn't help but smirk as Zeb finally grabbed the droid by the head, and carried him out of the room. Chopper warbled angrily as he launched him out the doorway and into the hallway. 

Zeb slammed the door shut and leaned against it, sighing. 

 "I don't understand why you keep that dumb droid around, Hera." 

 "He's part of the crew, whether you like it or not." Hera smiled and shook her head, eyes still glued to the two flying objects outside the windshield.

Rey felt Finn lean against her side and he whispered into her ear, " and I thought bb8 had an attitude! " 

Rey smirked and nodded her head, agreeing with his comment. 

Hera then picked her com, "you find anything yet guys?" 

 There was silence for a while, until Rey could see Sabine lift up her com in the distance. "I think we found something Spector 2!" 

 Rey nearly cheered for joy, "did they find the Falcon?!" She asked excitedly as she ran up to the windshield and stood beside the copilot's seat. 

 "We'll find out here in a bit." Hera flew the ship over to where Sabine and Ezra were gathered. She then stood up and ran to the doorway, "Jedi," She motioned at Rey, "come with me, the rest may follow but do not touch ANYTHING. Understood?" 

 The rebels nodded. 

"I'm going to stay in here with the kids, if that's ok. " Rose spoke, "they need to be watched." 

 "That's fine, I understand." She glanced at each of the kids, grinning. "Kids can be a handful. Trust me, I have one of my own. I can't imagine how three would be!" She made a face and both her and Rose laughed. Rey was glad to see that there was no tension between her  friends and Sabine's crew. 

Hera then spun on her heel and headed down the hallway. Rey looked over her shoulder, a sign that said  _who's coming with me?_

Poe stood and walked over to where she was standing, "I'll come with you." 

 Rey smiled and glanced over at Finn, who was sitting down next to Rose. 

 "I'll keep an eye on these three with Rose, she probably needs the backup." He smirked, "She's outnumbered three to one you know." 

Rose gasped, "oh these sweet little children would never do anything wrong, now would you?" She looked down laughing at Temiri and Oniho. 

They grinned up at her mischievously. 

 "You see that?" Zeb chucked from across the room, "that's a smile of pure naughtiness." 

 "See?" Finn laughed, "She needs me here, you two have fun." 

 Rey looked up at Poe, they both nodded and walked out the door. They strolled down the hallway, looking for Hera. 

 They came down to the last door, which led to the bottom of the ship where they had just been earlier. They heard Hera's voice, and climbed down the ladder which led to the room. As Rey let go of the steel bars, she was approached by the Fathier colt. She apparently had missed having company, for she rubbed her nose against Rey's side, purring happily. 

 "Hi girl," Rey said as she stroked the colt's nose. Poe hopped down beside her, they both caught sight of Hera. She was in front of them, standing next to the ramp door that they had just entered in earlier. She pressed a button on the wall. There was a clang, and the massive door opened. This time however, the ramp didn't emerge. 

Hera glanced down over the edge and motioned Poe and Rey to come over. "This your ship?" She asked, pointing downward. 

Rey and Poe leaned over and saw the crashed Falcon, nearly covered by trees. Remnants of metal were stuck in the tree tops, and they could see the shattered windshield from above. "Wow," Poe said sarcastically, "you landed it well."

 "Shut up," Rey wanted to push him over the edge, "what do you expect when troopers shoot out your engines while you're in midflight?" 

 Poe laughed, "whatever." 

 Hera tapped her foot on the ground, "so, is this it?" 

 Rey stood back up, "that's her alright." 

 Hera nodded and held up her com, "that's the ship guys, good work." 

 Then out of nowhere, Sabine and Ezra came around the corner of the Ghost. They flew into the entrance and landed gracefully. 

Sabine took off her helmet, "it's in rough shape, but i think we can pick it up." 

 Poe and Rey glanced at eachother confusingly.

 "Uhh, pick it up?" Poe asked, "how are you going to do that?" 

 Ezra took off his helmet, and flipped a switch on the wall. "Magnet." He said matter of factly.

 Poe and Rey watched in wonder as the Falcon slowly raised into the air. Luckily the Ghost was larger, so it picked up Rey's ship with ease. The falcon rose and touched the bottom of the other ship. Hera pressed the button once more, and closed the door. She walked over to the ladder and made her way back to the pilot's seat. 

 "Is that it?" Rey asked in disbelief, "that's all we need to do?"

 Sabine turned and smiled at her, "yep, we've got your ship and are about to take you guys home." 

 "And it won't fly off in hyperspace?" 

 " Yep, we've done this millions of times! It's never come disconnected. " 

Poe faced Rey, "I need to ask Rose or you to build me one of these things!" He said excitedly.

Suddenly, the colt pressed her soft nose against the back of Ezra's neck. "What the?! What is this thing?!" He yelped as he jumped back and faced the Fathier. The colt nickered, almost as if she were laughing.

 "This is a Fathier, we're bringing her with us." Rey said as she scratched the colt's side. 

 Ezra laughed as the young Fathier sniffed his head. "Hi there! You're a cool looking creature!" He said as he pet her head. 

 Rey raised her eyebrows in surprise, "She really likes you! That's odd, normally she's cautious of strangers." 

 "Yeah, when i was younger my master taught me how to connect with animals." Ezra said as he stroked her long ears, "plus, I just like critters. So she can probably sense that." 

 Sabine spoke up, "they kind of remind you of the Loth wolves, huh?" 

 " They really do! " he said, still petting the colt.

 "Loth Wolves?" Rey asked, "what are those?" 

 Ezra looked over at her, "they are giant dogs, native to my planet. Me and Sabine like to ride them when we visit my hometown." 

 " Oh, that sounds cool. " 

 "They're pretty awesome, I think  you'd like them." 

 Poe started to walk towards the ladder, "I'm more into flying than riding, no offense." 

 The colt snorted.

 "Let's get back up to Hera, She's probably wondering why we're still down here." Sabine said. "You guys can resume your conversation up in the main room." 

 They all climbed the ladder, and Rey glanced down to see the sad eyes of the colt. She sensed someone watching her so she looked around, and saw Ezra watching her from the hallway.

 "Bring her with us, I don't mind." He whispered happily. 

Rey grinned and looked back down at the colt, "C'mon, jump!" 

 The Fathier nickered happily, and leaped up the ladder with ease. She followed Rey as she walked down the hallway. 

 "Good jump," Ezra complimented her as they passed him. He followed behind, and they walked into where Hera was flying the ship. 

She faced them, "your friends are in the main room, if you'd like you can go in there." 

 " I'm going, " Ezra spun and walked out the door. 

 Rey was about to follow, when she heard Hera speak.

 "I need a copilot, you wanna help?" 

 Rey nodded happily, she walked quickly across the room and sat down in the copilot's seat. 

 "You've ever flown before?" Hera asked as she flew the Ghost upwards and towards the atmosphere. 

 "Yeah, many times." Rey said excitedly as she glanced around at all the controls. "The Falcon's my ship, it was given to me." 

  "Oh, yes." Hera chucked, "I know the Millennium Falcon. How did you manage to get it from Han?" 

 Rey gasped, "you knew Han?" 

 " i sure did... Wait... _knew? "_

Rey sighed sadly and looked down at the ground, "I'm sorry to say, but he died a few months ago. That's why i have the ship" 

 "Oh my....  That's terrible!" Hera cried, " Who killed him?" 

 "Kylo ren"

Hera gasped, "his own son...." 

"Yes, it was awful. Me and my friend Finn saw when it happened. You see, before he was murdered, Chewie had been shot in the arm. So while he was injured, I was Han's copilot. He offered for me to join his crew, right before he died. " 

 "How is Chewie handling it all, I know he was really close to that man." 

 " He's doing ok, he still gets sad sometimes. But lately he's been hanging out with me a lot. Right now he's helping Leia map out battle plans. "

"I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how Leia felt." Hera said sadly.

Rey nodded, "She was heartbroken, he was a good man. I didn't know him for long, but he was like the father that I never had. So after he died, I decided to care for his ship. I claim the Falcon as mine now, but in my mind i still say it's his. "

Hera wiped a tear from her eye, "just 3 or 4 years ago, my best friend was killed. He died saving us all, and there's not one day that goes by that i don't think about him." She put the ship in auto drive and faced Rey, "losing people's rough, I understand." 

Rey nodded, then she felt the colt's head lay on her lap. She stroked her long ears as she purred softly. 

This made Hera smile, "you Jedi and your animals." She laughed, "Ezra's the same way, he's got a special connection with those Loth Wolves." 

 "Yeah, he told me about them. They sound cool." Rey saw that they had exited the atmosphere, "you want me to type in the resistance's coordinates?" 

 " Please, I'll get the hyperspeed ready. "

Rey typed into the screen in front of her, she clicked the green button and submitted the information. "There,  we're ready to go."

 Hera floored the hyperspeed and they shot off into space. The blue and white stars before them vanishing and turning into blurry streaks of light. 

They both sighed and leaned back into their chairs. 

 "You know?" Hera spoke, "I've missed having a good copilot. I haven't had one since Kanan passed." She faced Rey, "no offense to Ezra, but he gets distracted easily." 

 They both laughed, and Rey watched as Hera lean over and open a little metal box beside her chair. She pulled out two cups, and handed one out to her, "water?"

 Rey nodded and took the cup, "thank you." She said as she sipped some of it down greedily, now that she realized it, she was parched. The cool liquid felt wonderful as it ran down her dry throat.

After a few drinks, Rey then asked, "hey, how did you know that i was a Jedi?" 

 " Ezra told me, " Hera said, "he said that you are strong with the force, and he was correct. He's normally right about those things."

 Rey was bewildered, "huh." She didn't know that Jedi could read each others minds.

Then they were both quiet, just taking in the silence. Sipping on their water, they watched the blurry stars flash by.

 The sounds of kids laughing broke the quietness, Hera smiled, "ah, it seemed as though Jacen's found new friends." 

 Rey glanced over at her, "he's your boy, right?"

 Hera nodded, "Sabine must have told you about him."

 "She did, and I bet Temiri, Oniho, and Arashell are excited to have another kid to talk to."

 " Where'd you get those kiddos anyways? " 

 "Oh," Rey said, "we found them back at the Fathier stables, they were slaves." 

 "Those poor things!" Hera spoke sadly, "I'm glad you guys saved them, I bet they had a rough life back on Canto Bight." 

 Rey agreed, "yeah, and i also found out that the boy, Temiri can use the force fairly well." Hera raised her eyebrows as she heard this.

Rey continued, "I'm not sure if the other two can, but I'm hoping to be able to train them as they get older. This entire galaxy is lacking Jedi, and we need as many as we can get." 

 "That's a good idea," Hera said thoughtfully, "if only i could convince Ezra to have a padawan. But i don't think he's the teaching type." 

 They both smirked and sipped on more water, Hera looked down at her cup, "sorry about not having much to choose from, water's all we got." 

 "No, this is great!" Rey said quickly, "i was parched , I haven't had water for a day!" 

 " You want some more? "

Rey noticed that her cup was empty, "Yes please. Thank you"  Hera took a large cylinder and poured the girl some more. 

 "My crew is never that excited for water," Hera chuckled, "although i wish they were." 

There was a sudden beeping noise and they came out of hyperspeed. Rey could see Crait, the secret resistance base, out in the distance.

"Alright, looks like we're here."

  Hera faced her, "thanks for having this conversation with me, you're a good person Rey." 

Rey smiled,  "thank you, it was nice." Then she added, "oh, and thanks for the water."

 " No problem, " Hera smirked and walked towards the doorway, "Let's go tell the others." 

Rey nodded and followed the twi-lek out into the hallway, the colt on her heels.

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

 

 


	20. Landing on Crait

Rey into the main room, and saw a small green haired boy sitting on the ground next to Temiri and Oniho.

_That must be Jacen._

 They were playing with action figures, including the ones that Oniho had brought with him. Zeb was sitting down beside them and watched the boys, grinning as they had a pretend lightsaber fight. 

Sabine was sitting on a small couch and drawing something on a piece of paper. Arashell was pressed up against her side, watching with interest.

Chopper had been listening to Ezra's conversation, but rolled over to Rey when he saw them enter.

 "Hi momma!" Jacen said as he glanced up at his mother smiling, "we're fighting!" He showed her the action figure he was holding. 

 "That's very nice dear!" Hera said to her son, "I'm glad you've made new friends!" 

 She gleamed at the three boys for a bit, and then looked up at everyone else, "we're here on Crait, about time to get off."

 Everyone turned their heads to her as she spoke.

"Alright boys and girls, " Poe said as he stood up and stretched, "this is our stop."

"Dork" Finn said, pushing him as he walked bye.

 "I'm going to land the ship," Hera yelled over her shoulder as she made her way to the pilot's seat, "you can go down to the door if you want."

 Rey lead them down the hallway, and to the ladder which connected to the main door below them. The colt leaped down first, then Rey, and then the rest followed.

Rey could feel the ship lower, and stop abruptly as they hit the ground.  She heard footsteps above them, and then Hera crawled down. "Ezra," she said, "open the door."

 The boy nodded and pressed a button on the wall beside him, and the big door slowly opened. This time the ramp came down as well. 

 A large puff of white dust flew up in the air as it hit the ground. 

Rey walked out and stepped on the white ground, breathing in the salty air. 

 "Woah!" She heard Sabine gasp behind her, Rey peered back and saw the Mandalorian touch the ground with her fingers, "is this salt?" 

 "Aw, neat!" Ezra laughed as he walked around, looking down at his red footprints in the powdery ground.

 Hera turned to her crew, "you all stay here, it'll be easier if just us go." 

"Alright," Jacen said sadly as he waved to his friends, "goodbye." He walked up to them and handed them each a new action figure, "here, you can have these."

 Temiri and Oniho gasped excitedly as they looked over thirty new toys. "Thanks!" Temiri said happily as he put it in his pocket with his other figure. 

Then Jacen walked over to Arashell and hugged her, "goodbye Arashell."

Rey smirked as she saw the jealous look in Temiri 's eyes.

 Jacen let go and trotted back inside the ship. He disappeared around the corner.

 "We better go after him!" Zeb spoke quickly, "bye guys, it was nice to meet you!" He waved as he ran up the ramp. 

Chopper followed him, waving goodbye with his mechanical arms. 

 "I've got to go too," Sabine said as she faced the rebels, "thanks for helping me escape, and it was really great to meet you all." She looked down at Arashell, "keep practicing drawing, you'll get better. I bet when I see you again you'll be an artist!"

 Arashell smiled, "I will, bye Sabine!" 

 Sabine waved to them as she went back inside the ship as well. 

 "Alright everyone. " Hera said as she started walking towards the stone building, "let's go. I want to tell Leia hi." 

 " You know her? " Rose asked in amazement.

Hera chuckled, "I sure did, we used to work together when we were younger. We were best friends."

They were about to enter the building's doors, when they heard running footsteps behind them. Rey turned and saw Ezra sprinting in their direction. 

 "What are you doing?" Hera asked.

 He ran up panting, "can... I come?" 

 Hera shook her head, "fine, c'mon."

 He walked beside them, and Rey saw a slight skip in his step. She was amused,  _he's really excited._

They walked up to a large door. Poe grabbed the handles and struggled to open it. 

He stepped back, "it's locked." 

 They all looked around, trying to catch sight of another entrance. 

 "Helloooo?" Finn shouted, his loud voice echoing around them. 

Rey nudged him, laughing, " hush, you're going to scare someone! " 

Finn just shrugged and glanced around, " i don't see anyone here." 

 "There!" Rose pointed over at a com screen, built into the wall. "Let's see what that thing is ."

Ezra ran over to the screen, and pushed a button. "Hello?" He spoke, "anyone there?" 

 There was a vibrating noise, and suddenly a man popped up on the screen, "who's there? State your names and why you're here." 

 Hera stepped forward, "hi, I'm Hera and these are my friends," she motioned around her, "we are here to speak to Leia, and to drop off these rebels." 

There was silence at first, then they heard a woman's voice in the background, "who's there?" It asked.

 "Leia!" Poe recognized the voice immediately. "It's me, Poe!" He ran past Ezra and up to the screen. 

The previous man's face moved away, and Leia's face came into view. 

 "Poe!" She said cheerfully, "you're safe! Where's the rest of your group?" 

 Poe turned the screen so it pointed at Rey and the rest. "Here they are, we need to get in. But the door is locked." 

 Rey waved sheepishly at Leia, knowing that she must be furious at her for disobeying orders. But surprisingly, Leia shown no signs of anger. 

 "I'll open it, it'll take a few minutes though!" She said as she flipped a few switches offscreen. "You must be freezing!" And then she disappeared.

 Now that Rey noticed, it was quite chilly out. She wrapped her arms around herself, she was the only one who was wearing short sleeves.

The colt, who was still at her side, wasn't cold at all. Her long fur kept her warm. 

Rey felt something drape over her shoulders, and turned to see Finn putting his coat  around her like a cover. She thanked him gratefully, and wrapped it around her body. 

They waited for a few minutes, and the door still didn't open. The colt snorted frustrated.

 "You think they forgot about us?" Ezra asked, tapping his foot on the white ground. 

Right after he said this, there was a loud hissing sound. The large metal door moved, and slowly lifted. 

 

 


	21. The wrath of Leia

They all scurried inside the building, and the large door closed behind them. Rey glanced around happily, it was good to be home. The colt, who was trotting beside her, didn't seem afraid at all. She sniffed at the people who went past them. 

Rey enjoyed the confused look on everyone's face as they saw the Fathier walking throughout the building. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Rey saw Hera lean towards Ezra, "my goodness, the rebellion has shrunk quite a bit." She whispered to him.

Ezra nodded as he looked around.

 "Hera?" Rey heard a familiar voice behind them, "is it really you?" 

 She turned and saw Leia standing a few feet away from them, her aging face smiling big. Hera turned over her shoulder to look at her.

Then she broke into a soft smile, "Leia, it is great to see you again my friend!" She laughed as they walked up to each other and embraced. 

 "How have things been going with your crew?" 

 " Meh, " Hera cocked hey head to the side, " Teaching Ezra how to fly, watching Jacen grow up, making new friends. " she grinned as she motioned towards Rey and the rest. "Pretty much same old, same old. You?"

As the two old friends talked, Rey noticed that Leia still didn't meet her's or any of her friend's eyes, which made her very nervous. She didn't even seen to acknowledge them. She leaned into Finn, "I think we're in big trouble..." 

 " I think so too... " he replied, his voice shaking slightly. Rey could sense fear building up in him, the young man was clear headed in battle, but got very nervous when someone he knew and trusted got angry at him.

_It's probably from all those years of being a stormtrooper, tortured and punished when disobeying orders._

She tried to sooth him by gently wrapping one of her arms around his side, a gesture saying...

_Don't worry, I've got your back._

He smiled down at her, and she could see a look of gratitude in his eyes.

Ezra strolled over to them, smiling sadly, "well, i guess it's time to say goodbyes. It was really great meeting you all, and i hope we can see each other again soon." 

 Rose nodded, "me too, and i think we'll cross paths again." 

 " You'll have to come back to visit us. " Finn chided in, "that way i could have enough time to spank you at sparring, just like i do to Rey here." He grinned as he nudged her shoulder.

 "Hey!" She laughed as she pushed him away, "you just can't admit that you got beat by a GIRL." 

 They all laughed at this, including Finn.

 "Bye Ezra!" Temiri, Oniho, and Arashell giggled as they ran up to the young Jedi and hugged his waist. 

 "Goodbye guys," he chuckled, "you all behave." 

Ezra then walked over to the colt, "I'll see you again girl." He turned his head to glance over at Rey, "you've got a neat creature here, I'm jealous. Maybe you all could come visit my home planet sometime and i could show you the Loth wolves." He said as he stroked the Fathier's long ears.

 "That would be awesome!" Rey spoke excitedly, "we'll have to do that." 

Finally, after a few minutes, Hera decided it was time for her to leave. "I would love to stay longer, but I've got to get back to the ship. Sabine and Zeb are watching Jacen, and who knows what they're up to!" 

 " Alright, " Leia laughed, "you have a safe trip Hera, see you soon!" They waved and the twi-lek headed back towards the door.  She hugged the three kids, "I'll see you again soon little ones, I bet you'll grow a lot."

They giggled and ran behind Rose, peeking out from behind her legs. Hera walked up and embraced the rebels one by one, until Rey was the last one. 

Hera looked into her eyes, "I'll see you soon Rey, have fun raising your colt." Rey nodded sadly and hugged the older woman. She felt tears prickle at her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. 

 _What's wrong with me?!_ She thought to herself,  _i haven't even known her for two days, and i cry about her leaving?_

Hera was still half stranger to her, but she almost felt like family to her. Just like Finn and Poe and Rose. There was something about how she treated Rey,  somewhat in a motherly way. Before she knew it, she had grown attached to the pilot. 

Hera stepped away, "c'mon Ezra, we've got to go." She motioned the boy with her hands. 

They walked over to the door, smiling and waving goodbye before they disappeared around the corner. 

Rey heard Leia speaking, and she turned to see her taking to Poe happily. She had one hand on his shoulder, smiling as he told her what happened after he was captured. 

Then she turned around and stared at Rey, Finn, and Rose. "You three, come with me" she said coolly as she pointed towards a small office. She walked over and opened the door. 

Rose glanced over her shoulder at Poe, "watch the kids for me, will you?"

 He nodded, a look of concern on his face as he called the kids over. They skipped after him as he led them to the xwings.

Rey went over nervously to the door, and walked inside. Leia said nothing as they sat down in leather chairs. The older woman closed the door behind them quietly, and sat down in a chair across from them. 

She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. As though trying to keep her cool. Then she opened them, "now, tell me why you disobeyed orders." She spoke softly in monotone. 

None of them met her eyes, Rey couldn't sense any emotion coming from the woman. She was hiding her feelings well. 

Finn was the first to speak, "we didn't cause any damage to the rebellion, so the mission went well i think." He glanced at Rose and Rey, "you agree?" 

 The two women nodded and looked up at Leia, who was still frowning. 

 "That doesn't give you an excuse to disobey me." She said coldly, "you risked a whole lot during your little secret mission." 

 Then Rey spoke up, "it was my fault, I said we could take the Falcon. I convinced Rose to come with us, it was me who made it possible for us to escape." She lowered her head, "it's me, not them." 

 "No it's not! It's not your-" Finn was silenced by Rey. 

She continued, "the reason i wanted to save Poe, was because i didn't know where they would take him next. The troopers could have taken him to Kylo Ren, and he could have given our secrets away. He could have been sold as a slave to a different planet." Rey spoke quickly, she looked up and noticed that Leia was listening intently.

'"Go on, " Leia said.

 Rey kept talking, "I was scared that we were going to lose track of him if we didn't act fast enough. I was worried what he would have a life like i used to have. Being dropped off on a strange planet, knowing absolutely nobody, being alone and no one knowing where you are." Rey got quieter, "I know what it is like to feel abandoned, and i didn't want him to experience that same feeling. I know he's your close friend Leia, but he's mine too. And i wasn't going to leave him behind."

 The moment Rey was finished, she realized that she had talked a bit too aggressive towards Leia. She had spoken out of line. "I'm sorry Leia, I shouldn't have said-" she apologized, but was cut off by Leia putting a hand up in the air.

 "No," the woman spoke softly, "you had a good reason to rescue him, and i respect that. I don't see a problem with saving your friends, I'm sure he would have done the same for you all. I just don't like that you disobeyed my commands." She looked each of them in the eye.

 " We're sorry," Rose spoke sadly, "we should have asked you first."

Rey looked up at Leia, and saw that she was smiling. "You guys think you're in trouble, don't you?" 

 They nodded, very confused. 

 "Well you aren't, so don't be worried." Leia laughed, "I'm just telling you that if you disobey me again, you will be in trouble." 

 Rey could feel the relief shoot out of her two friends as they lifted their heads up, no longer fearful. 

 "We promise Leia," Finn told her, "we won't do this again." 

 Leia nodded, and then looked down quizzically at the colt laying next to Rey's legs. 

 "Where'd you get that?" She asked, eyeing the creature. 

 Rose sighed, "oh boy, it's a LONG story." 

 Leia chuckled, "well, don't worry about it. I not concerned about hearing it too soon." 

Then, before she could stop herself, Rey blurted out, "can i keep her?" She threw her hands over her mouth, but it was too late. She was embarrassed, for she sounded extremely childish.

 Leia eyed the colt nervously, "is she friendly?" 

 "Yeah, she just gets scared of strangers sometimes. But she's never hurt anyone." 

 Leia bent over, "come here girl, tsk tsk tsk." She called her. The colt perked her head up, and slowly stood up. She took small steps over to Leia, and sniffed her outstretched hand. Then to Rey's relief, she rubbed her nose against it, purring as Leia stroked her muzzle. 

 "She's very sweet, and beautiful too." Leia said as she  admired the colt's bridle fur. "Does she have a mother?"

 " Her mother died protecting us, " Rose said sadly, "if we had left her back on Canto Bight, she would have certainly died as well."

 " Oh, " Leia spoke softly, "you poor thing." 

 She then looked up at Rey, setting the hopeful gleam in the young girl's eyes. "I don't see why you can't keep her," she chuckled, "she seems like a nice animal." 

 Rey nearly jumped for joy, the colt could stay! The Fathier pranced around the room, it almost seemed as though she could understand what the humans were saying.

 "Uhh, we also brought some orphan kids with us."  Rose said sheepishly, "remember the three children that helped me and Finn escape last time?" 

 Leia's eyes lit up, "oh yes! You told me about them!" 

 Rose nervously tapped her fingers on the side of the chair, "um, would it be bad if we could let them stay here? They've got no where else to go." 

 " Of course! " Leia laughed happily, "I love kids." 

Rose exploded with absolute joy, "oh my gosh! Thank you so much! I'll go tell them now, they'll be so happy!" She ran out of the room, calling their names excitedly. 

 "My goodness, she's overjoyed." Leia laughed as she watched the girl run out the door. 

 "You've really made her happy," Finn said, "thank you Leia, for everything." 

 Leia bowed her head, "you're welcome, now you better go catch up with your friend. She'll leave you behind!" She pointed towards the doorway. 

Rey and Finn glanced at either, and then raced out of the room. 

 "Thank you Leia!" Rey told her over her shoulder. She  could hear her giggle 'you're welcome honey' as she ran across the large building. She could hear the thunderous footsteps of the colt behind her, and the sound of Finn breathing hard beside her. 

Up ahead, she could see Rose telling the kids the good news. The the children jumped for joy and cheered as they ran in circles around her. 

Rey and Finn caught up to them, and celebrated with their friends. 

Rey felt Finn wrap an arm around her shoulders, and she thought to herself...

_Everything is perfect._

 


	22. EPILOGUE

Rey rubbed her fingers against the powdery planet beneath her.

'"It's so odd that this place is full of salt! " Finn exclaimed as he too observed the ground, "on the bright side, we'll never have to worry about not being able to salten our food." He grinned at himself.

Rey shook her head and laughed at her friend's joke.

Then she stared into the sunset. The orange and red rays of light reflected on the white ground, making it even more vibrant that usual. 

 She heard Finn sigh beside her, "it's nice to finally have some peace and quiet." He said as he laid down on his back, facing the bright blue sky. 

Rey nodded, and was about to lay down beside him when she felt something touch her shoulder. She turned her head and saw that her Father colt had rubbed her nose against her. She had a large stick in her mouth. Rey had no idea where she found it.

 "You want to fetch?" Rey asked in disbelief. 

The colt nickered and trotted a few feet in away from her, looking back expectantly. 

Rey picked the stick up off the ground, drew her arm back, and launched it across the salty plane. The stick flew across the sky, and Rey watched with amazement as the colt sprinted across the white ground with great speed. 

She galloped quickly, until she was underneath the stick which still flew in the air. The colt leapt into the air and caught it with ease. She trotted back to Rey and Finn, who were still sitting on the ground. 

She dropped the stick down next to Rey and snorted. 

 "I'm no mind reader" Finn smirked, "but i think she's trying to tell you to throw it farther." 

  She grinned mischievously at the colt, who was prancing around excitedly. "Oh, I'll throw it farther alright!" 

 Rey launched the the stick into the air and the Fathier took off nickering happily. But this time Rey used the force to fling it even farther away. It flew hundreds and hundreds of feet across, until it was a small speck in the distance. Rey let it finally hit the ground. The colt galloped full speed towards it, her image slowly growing smaller as she neared the horizon.

 "There," Rey laughed as she brushed her hands together, "that should make her satisfied." 

 "She's really far out there!" Finn said a he shaded his eyes with his hand and peered out towards the galloping creature. 

Then he turned his head back to Rey, " so, have you named her yet?" 

 Rey shook her head, she hadn't even thought about names. But sooner or later she would have to call the colt something other than girl _._

 " I haven't chosen yet, what do you think i should name her?" 

Finn looked down, thinking hard. "You could name her after something of nature, or a planet, or a war hero. I don't know, it's your choice." He looked back up at her, " seriously... has there ever been someone, other than me of course, who's meant a lot to you?" 

 Rey was still  watching the colt, who now had stopped running to pick up the stick. She looked away, and glanced up at the sky, struggling to remember someone. Then a memory came to her mind, one from years and years ago, from when she was first dropped off on Jakku. 

 "There was," Rey said as she glanced overt at Finn, "let me tell you."

 ********************************************

 "Find some shelter girl!" Unkaar yelled at the young child as he shoved her out the door, "You come back here exactly two days from now." He ordered, as he held up two fat fingers, "understand?" 

 The girl nodded fearfully, she was still laying in the dirt. "Where will i go?" She said as tears fell from her eyes. 

 "Anywhere!" The fat man screeched, "as long as it's not here!" He slammed the door in her face. 

The young girl stood up and brushed herself off, then she glanced around at her surroundings. This was the first time she had been alone in this strange place. 

She looked up at the sky, and saw that the two suns were beginning to set. It would be pitch black in just a few hours. 

The girl scurried around the dirty buildings, looking for a place to hide for the night. But each cave or corner she found was already taken, by either another human or creature. She would peer into a dark hole, and something would always come running out. Screeching at her to get away from their territory. The child would run away in terror, afraid of what they would do to her.

She sighed as she left the tented market, and out into the open desert. It was dark, but out in the distance, she could make out the remains of crashed ships. Maybe there would be shelter there. 

It took a while, but she managed to run across the sandy dunes and finally came opon the ship ruins. There was plenty of holes and creases for her small body to climb into. She would be hidden from view. 

She walked the perimeter, looking for the perfect place to rest. Then she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind her. The girl spun around, eyes wide with fear. He body froze as she saw a girl standing a few feet away with the same startled expression. The girl looked many years older than her, probably a teenager. 

She had dark hair, which was put up in a messy bun. Her eyes were blue and her skin was slightly tanned. She wore a brown t shirt with a light colored cloth draped around her shoulders. Her capris pants were the same color of the fabric around her neck. Slung around her chest and back was a small bag, it was full with pieces of metal.

The young child stood with eyes wide, back pressed against the metal. 

Then the older girl spoke, "hey, it's alright. I won't hurt you." She said softly as she walked towards the horrified girl. "I promise, I'm here to help you." She held out her hand. 

The young girl eyed her nervously, but said no word. 

 The older teen chuckled and stood back up straight, "oh, don't be afraid. Do you need shelter for the night?" She asked.

The younger child nodded her head, but still made no move. 

 "Then follow me, you can join me back at my hut. Over there." The girl followed the stranger's pointed finger, and saw a small tent like structure out in the distance. It was nearly hidden inside a crashed jet fighter. 

The teen suddenly turned around, alert at something behind them. She then turned quickly back to the younger girl, "hurry! Follow me! There's sand people coming, they'll kill you if they see you!" She beckoned the child with her hands. "Quick, c'mon."

 The smaller girl questioned this, should she trust this stranger? Was there really sand people coming, or was it a trap? She rapidly made her decision as she heard the scraggly voices of people around the corner. She ran over to the older girl, looking up at her for protection. 

 "Let's go." The older girl said quietly, and the younger child followed her as they ran across the sandy plain. They came upon the hut. They breathed a sigh of relief as they ran inside the shelter, and closed the metal door behind them.

 "You made a wise choice," the teen panted as she sat down on a blanket on the floor, "they surely would've killed us."

 The smaller girl walked over and sat across from the  teen, "thanks for saving me." 

The older girl looked up, "so you can talk! What's your name?" She asked.

 "Rey," the child responded, "who are you?" 

 " I'm Kadina, "the teen said happily, "I've lived here all my life. My parents died when i was younger, so i was raised by my older brother." She looked down sadly, "he died a few years ago." 

 "Oh, I'm sorry." Rey spoke quietly, "I was dropped off here today, but my parents will come back tomorrow. I know they will." 

 Kadina looked back up at her sadly, "I'm sure they will, but until they return you can stay with me."

 Rey smiled, "thanks!" She was beginning to trust this person more.

 "What's that?" She pointed to a black stick leaning against the wall beside them.

 "This," Kadina said as she lifted the stick of the wall,  "is my staff. It's a weapon." 

 " Woah! " Rey said as the older girl handed her the staff to look at, "this is awesome!" 

 Kadina grinned as the child observed the weapon, it made her happy to have company around again. 

 "Here," she said as she walked over to a table and handed Rey a bowl of soup, "eat this. You must be famished from your journey." 

 The girl nodded, and ate up the food quickly. Then she started to yawn, and her eyes slowly started to droop. Kadina got the idea.

 "Ready for bed?" She asked as she set the bowl down and headed for a hammock in the corner. She sat in it and patted next to her. 

Rey ran over and crawled up onto the makeshift bed. It wasn't the comfiest to lay on, but it was better than sleeping on the cold sand. 

 "What if the bad men come in while we sleep?" Rey asked worryingly as she sat down in the hammock.

Kadina chucked, "don't worry, I sleep facing the door. Plus i have my knife and staff next to me, "she pointed to a small table next to her head. It had a large knife on top, and her staff was leaning next to it. "I'll wake up if someone tries to come in." 

Rey still was unsettled, then Kadina had an idea.

 "Hold on " she said.

 The young girl watched her as she jumped out of the hammock and run over to a small box beside the front door. She reached deep into it, pushing things aside. It seemed as though she were searching for something. 

 "What are you looking for?" Rey asked.

Kadina stood up, "this!" She said triumphantly. She turned around and Rey saw that she was holding a small rag doll. 

 The teen handed the toy to her, "here, you can have   this. My brother bought me her when i was younger, it help me sleep better at night." She grinned as she saw the look of excitement cross the girl's face.

 Rey gasped as she took the doll gently from Kadina's hands, " She's so beautiful!" She held her new toy up in the air, looking into its dark button eyes. She then held it against her chest, "thank you." She said softly.

 "You're welcome," Kadina beamed as double checked that she had locked the door. "Now, will you be able to rest better now?"

 Rey nodded, strangely deciding to trust the older girl with her life. She laid down, still clutching her doll, and her and Kadina lay back to back. It was comforting, feeling the warmth against her side. She was glad that this girl had found her. 

Rey closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly, dreaming of what tomorrow would bring her.

 

 

The next day, Rey followed Kadina across the hot desert to the ship ruins. She helped her scavenge stray pieces of metal that had fallen off, and quickly learned the difference between the useable and the unusable parts. 

 "This is how i get food," Kadina said as she lifted an engine of the sandy ground, "I sell these to that man over there." She pointed to where Unkaar's home was located, in the middle of a small market. 

 "I know him," Rey said as she walked into some shade that the broken ship gave, she rubbed the sweat of her forehead , "I'm supposed to work for him as i grow older." 

 Kadina glanced over at the young girl, "you work for that blubberhead too?" 

 Rey cracked up at her comment, " blubberhead!? "  she grinned as she bent over, laughing hard as she clutched her stomach. 

 "Yeah," Kadina laughed, "that's right, I called him a blubber head! Good nickname huh?" 

Rey nodded, still giggling. She wiped her eyes as she stood up. 

 "Alright," The older girl said as she looked into her bag full with parts of ships, "Let's go drop these off."

Kadina lifted her staff up onto her back and started to walk towards the market, Rey leapt up and ran after her. The two girls walked side by side, underneath the hot Jakku sun. 

As they entered the tent filled area, the smells of food and metal filled her nose. Rey was astonished by how many people were crowded around, just last night the place was empty. 

As they neared Unkaar's house, the familiar voice of his filled the air. Rey could barely make out his fat body as he sat in his trading both, making deals with other scavengers. 

 Kadina and her walked to the back of a line, "stay  close to me," the older girl spoke as she gently pulled Rey against her side, "people may act stupid and try to take you." 

Rey shivered at the thought of being taken away, she made sure to keep one hand wrapped tightly around Kadina's belt. They slowly made their way up the line, and finally reached Unkaar's booth. 

 "Got more scraps for you," Kadina said as she emptied her bag out on his desk, "I don't want any portions today, only cash." 

  Unkaar nodded "sure thing," he said as he looked over the ship parts, then he glanced down at Rey. She hesitantly met eyes with him.

 "Well, well..." He spoke dryly, "looks as though you've found a friend girl." He glanced back up at Kadina, who was holding her hand out expectantly. 

 "She's my helper," she spoke as she took the cash Unkaar slid across the table.

He looked down at her coldly, "good for you." He spoke menacingly, "next!"

Rey and Kadina stepped out of line, but instead of heading for the exit  she led them to a small tent. 

 "Where are we going?" Rey asked confusingly, still walking by her side. 

Kadina glanced down at her, smirking. "You'll see." She said mysteriously as they walked through the tent opening. It took Rey's eyes a while to adjust to the dim lighting, but she soon realized that they were inside a weapon shop. 

 "What kind of weapon do you want?" Kadina asked the young girl. 

Rey looked up at her, "you're getting me a weapon?!" She asked, eyes wide open with excitement.

Kadina grinned at her happiness, "yes, I'll train you to use it for protection. You'll need it out in these parts." She motioned at their surroundings. 

Rey peered around, taking in all the swords and knives around them. Then something in the corner caught her eye. She ran over to it excitedly. 

 "Look!" Rey said as she lifted a small staff, "it's just like yours!"

 Kadina followed the young girl over to the weapon, "it is! It's just your size, do you want that?" 

 Rey grinned and nodded quickly, holding the staff tightly in her small hands. 

 The older girl walked up to the sleeping salesman, "hey, you!" The man jerked awake.

 "We want this staff here," Kadina said as Rey set her weapon on the desk in front of them, "how much? " 

The man observed the small weapon, "45 ," he spoke scratchy. 

Kadina raised her eyebrows in surprise, "that's a really good price." 

The salesman coughed and then spoke again, "not many people want those anymore, they're more into lasers and such. " 

Rey watched as the older girl gave the man a few pieces of paper. Then she took the staff and handed it to the girl, "you have a good day sir," she told the man as they began to leave the tent. 

Rey could hear a stuttering, "you too girls " as they went out the door and headed towards the exit of the market. 

Kadina smiled down at the young girl who was still observing her new weapon, "I'll train you to fight with that stick, starting tomorrow. " she said as they passed the exit and headed home. Rey looked up at her happily, glad to have her as a friend. Then they raced each other across the long desert, heading home. 

 

 

The next morning, Kadina  started to teach Rey how to use the staff. Luckily for her, the young girl was a quick learner. And by the end of the day Rey could dodge an attack easily. 

Day after day they trained, Kadina as the master and Rey as the apprentice. Kadina was surprised by the young girl's strength, and soon they were sparring  each other. 

One time while they were walking through the market, some man reached out and grabbed Rey's arm. The young girl reacted immediately, she took her staff with one arm and beat him in the head. He let go of her, wincing in pain. Then Rey held her staff with both hands and did a series of moves which sent him tumbling to the ground. The man stood up, still holding his head, and ran away.

Everyone around was amazed by the 8 year old's skill.

Every since that day, the people who had been there  during the incident never messed with her. They respected the young girl, which made Kadina proud.

Every day the two girls had a schedule, first they would wake at dawn and eat breakfast. Then they would scavenge for ship parts until it was midday, and take them down to Unkaar to trade. After, they would return home, and they would train until evening. And at the end of each day, they would sit together and eat their dinner while watching the sunset. Then they would go to sleep, and restart the schedule the next morning. 

This lasted for about a year, and everything was fine. Rey's life was good. 

 

Until one day.....

 

Rey handed Kadina the bag of scraps as they neared Unkaar's booth. The older girl thanked her as they walked up to the fat man. 

 "What do we have today girls?" Unkaar asked them add Kadina poured out her bag on the table. Rey looked up at him as he studied the pieces. Then she suddenly had a weird feeling, she turned around and saw two men covered with white armor. They were staring at her from the entrance of the market. 

 This made her feel uneasy.

After Kadina was finished bartering with Unkaar, Rey nudged her side. "What?" The teen asked, then she to saw the men with armor. "Stormtroopers? What do they want?" 

 Then the armored covered men started to walk in the two girl's direction. Rey was about to run until Kadina caught her arm, "Let's not run, they'll think we did something wrong. Lets go see what they want."

 Rey took a deep breath and nodded. She followed her friend to the stormtroopers. 

As the stormtroopers walked up to them, one of them spoke. "We need the girl." He said, pointing at Rey with his gloved hand. 

 "Why?" Kadina spoke, taking a step in front of Rey protectively, "did we do something wrong?" 

 One trooper aimed his gun at the teen's face, "we are taking homeless children and having them train for the First Order." He said, "if you interfere, you will be killed." 

 Rey watched nervously as Kadina voice rose,  "she's got a home, she lives with me." She said coldly, gripping her staff.

 "Move out of the way," the other stormtrooper said as he shoved her aside. He reached for Rey's hand. 

Before Rey could grab her staff, Kadina ran up and shoved the trooper back. She shoved him a little too hard, for he tripped over a rope and fell right in the path of a cart full of bricks. The creature pushing the cart couldn't stop in time, and accidentally ran over the fallen trooper. 

He screamed in pain as the cart wheel rolled over him. Rey felt sick as she heard a crunching  sound add the wheel ran over his body. Kadina grabbed her arm and started to run, "we've got to get out of here!" 

The two girls ran away, they sprinted out of the market and deep into the open desert. Kadina and Rey glanced around with anxious eyes, they started to hear the voices of more stormtroopers as they gathered to where their companion lay injured.

 "We can't lead them home!" Kadina panicked as she looked around hopelessly for a place to hide. 

Rey glanced around and saw a large star destroyer that lay crashed a couple hundred feet away. "Follow me!" She yelled, and they both ran across the open sandy plane. As they approached the ship, Rey heard Kadina scream from behind her. " They're following us! Hurry, hide! " the teenager told her. 

 They found a small crevice that they both could fit into, Rey crawled in first. But Kadina didn't come in with her. She realized with horror that her friend didn't have enough time to hide, for the troopers were around the corner. 

Kadina's blue eyes looked into Rey's hazel, "you stay here, no matter what happens. Understand?" Rey nodded, and leaned forward and hugged the older girl tight. After a bit, Kadina let go and acted as though she came from a different direction as the stormtroopers ran towards her. 

" You are under arrest! " One trooper yelled as he tried to grab the teenager's arms. Kadina hit him with her staff, "get your hands off of me! " she screeched. The trooper backed away, gun aimed at her head. 

"Where's the girl?!" Another trooper asked as he walked passed the rest, "where are you hiding her?!" 

"None of your business! " Kadina snarled at the man.

 "Find her!" The head trooper ordered to his team. All but two left to search the ship.

Rey clutched her staff as she watched from the shadows. She could see the bravery in her friend's eyes, but behind it all she could tell the young teenager was terrified.

Rey wanted so badly to protect her, but she listened to Kadina and stayed put. If she would come out now, they both would have no chance of escaping. 

 "Take her hostage!" The head trooper yelled at the two others, "she's under arrest!" 

 The two troopers walked up to Kadina to grab her, but she refused and swung her staff at then. Successfully hitting one in the head and knocking him over. 

The other stormtrooper shot his pistol at her, but she  dodged each bullet with her stick. It ricocheted back towards the attacker, nearly hitting him in the head. 

Rey watched horrified as her friend protected her. She felt her eyes get watery with fear and she grimaced at each bullet shot. 

Kadina fought fiercely, but she was no match for the troopers. She was severely outnumbered, and was growing tired from blocking so many lasers at once. 

Rey nearly cried out as the head trooper held out a stun gun and shot Kadina in the back. The teenager jerked and fell down to the ground unconscious. 

Rey silently burst into tears as she watched them drag her friend away. She wanted to run out of her hiding spot and rescue her, but she knew she was no match for ten men. 

 The stormtroopers dragged Kadina to a ship that had just landed beside them. They all soon gave up their search for Rey, and went inside the ship. The door closed and in a flash it rose up in the air and flew away. 

Rey rubbed her eyes, and hugged her legs. She rocked herself back and forth, trying to comprehend what had just happened. 

 "Kadina, come back. Please!" The heartbroken girl sobbed for her friend. After a few hours of crying, she finally ran out of tears. She just curled up in her dark little corner, refusing to move. 

Rey closed her eyes, hoping to wake from a bad dream. Hoping that Kadina would be there to comfort her. 

But she knew the truth, her friend was gone. The young girl was alone. 

Rey was curled up inside the ship for hours, until she finally opened her eyes and peered outside. It was dark, and no one was around. She stuck her small head out the hole and looked around. 

Nobody.

The young girl slowly stepped out of her hiding spot. She looked around at where the fight had taken place, stormtrooper footprints lined the sandy ground.  

_Stormtroopers..._

 She hated those men, if it weren't for them Kadina would still be with her. 

Rey's sadness was taken over by a flaming anger. She ran up and kicked pieces of metal across the ground, but she dared not to yell, for the sand people would hear her. 

She was about to kick another shard across, until she realized that Kadina's bag and staff still lay in the sand. The brave warrior had dropped them when she was shot, and the stormtroopers hasn't taken them.

Rey gently lifted the large stick and pressed it against her cheek. Feeling the cold metal press against her skin.

 "I'll keep this safe," she whispered as she looked up into the stars. "Until you come home." 

 Rey lifted her friend's things and started back to their camp, she repeatedly told herself as she walked across the sandy dunes.....

 "I need to keep her stuff safe, i know that she'll return to me."  

 ********************************************

 

 "That's horrible... I'm so sorry Rey...." Finn rubbed his hand up and down her back comfortingly.

Rey hugged the colt's head, " Kadina saved my life so many times, if it weren't for her I wouldn't have survived. " she felt a tear drop down her cheek.

 Finn used his sleeve and wiped it away from her face, "She sounds like a wonderful person, I wish i could have met her. I think Kadinas a good name." He said softly.

Rey looked over at the colt, and started giggling as she rubbed her nose into her hair, "what do you think girl? You like it?" 

The colt looked up at Rey and tilted her head, then she trotted in circles around them. 

 "Is that a yes or a no?" Finn asked as the Fathier sniffed his head. She looked him in the eye questionably.

Then he smirked, "I don't know Rey, maybe we should call her.....fluffy." He said the name in a whiney voice, and Rey burst out into laughter.

Finn laughed with her. But apparently the colt didn't think it was very humorous, for she stood over Finn and flopped down on top of him. He had been laying on his back, and was now pinned down by the Fathier. She nickered happily as she crushed him into the ground with her weight.

Rey laughed even harder as the poor Finn was gasping for air, " Ok, ok! We won't call you that!" He screamed for mercy underneath the furry mound.

The colt seemed satisfied and stood up off of him,  she snorted in his face and walked back over to Rey's side.

 "Kadina!" Rey scolded the colt, still giggling, " that was mean. "

The crushed Finn rolled up off his back and sat on his butt in the dusty ground, staring at Kadina. "You just don't like me, do you?" 

 The colt snorted and curled up next to Rey, placing her long head upon her lap. 

 "She's grown a lot in the past few days," Finn said as he scooted over to to sit on his friend's other side. "How big do you think she's going to get?" 

Rey shook her head as she stroked her pet's long ears, Kadina sighed and closed her eyes. "The females don't get very large, just a couple hundred pounds at the most."

 "A couple hundred pounds?!" Finn repeated horrified, he rolled his eyes, "oh I'm in for it." 

 The colt flicked her ears, agreeing to his comment. 

Rey sighed and leaned into Finn's side, he put his arm around her shoulders. 

The three of them just sat there, taking in the silent beauty around them as they sat in the shimmering rays of the sunset.

 

 

 

 

                              THE  END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really sad if you think about it... Rey wasn't waiting for just her family to return to Jakku, but also her friend...


	23. End

Thanks for reading! :D


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